The role of middle actors in electrification of transport in Swedish rural areas
2022 (English)In: Case Studies on Transport Policy, ISSN 2213-624X, E-ISSN 2213-6258, Vol. 10, no 3, p. 1706-1714Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
In this paper, we use the middle-out perspective to analyze the diffusion of electric cars and plug-in hybrids in Swedish rural areas and small towns. In Sweden, electrification of the transport system is a priority, particularly in car-dependent rural areas. However, the transition to electromobility mainly takes place in major urban areas. To understand the dynamics of the transition to electrified transport and identify how it may be facilitated, we identify top actors, bottom actors, and middle actors and analyze how middle actors exert influence. Our case study is based on in-depth interviews with civil servants who work with energy and transport issues in rural areas throughout Sweden and with representatives of energy companies and government agencies. We show that three middle actors are important: municipalities, local energy companies, and local car dealers. The municipalities and local energy companies mainly exert influence by knowledge diffusion and by contributing to projects such as charging infrastructure development. The car dealers are examples of middle actors who could play a central role by influencing consumers, but who currently often obstruct electric vehicle diffusion. We find that the support of top actors is very important for middle actors to be able to facilitate diffusion of electric cars and plug-in hybrids. Municipalities are in a unique position to use their knowledge, local networks, and sideways and upwards connections to strengthen the agency and capacity of citizens and small businesses (bottom actors). However, as small Swedish municipalities often have limited resources, long-term support from government agencies (top actors) is crucial. As middle actors are so important for the diffusion of electric vehicles, especially in the rural context where market forces are weaker than in the urban context, national policy for electrification of transport should support them.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier Ltd , 2022. Vol. 10, no 3, p. 1706-1714
Keywords [en]
Charging infrastructure, Electric vehicles, Middle-out perspective, Municipalities, Rural
National Category
Transport Systems and Logistics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-59863DOI: 10.1016/j.cstp.2022.06.009Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85133758639OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-59863DiVA, id: diva2:1685177
Note
Funding details: Energimyndigheten, 47895-1; Funding text 1: Top and middle actors are also interdependent in other aspects. According to our material, municipalities’ and local energy companies’ agency to contribute to public charging development is dependent on knowledge within the organizations. Respondents have emphasized the importance of enthusiastic and driven civil servants and politicians, for developing policy and practical measures for public charging infrastructure development and thus contributing to upwards influence. Local energy advisors often play a central role, as described in the previous section. They are partly financed by a top actor, the Swedish Energy Agency. Previously, every municipality could employ a local energy advisor and receive equal funding. Since 2016 funding has come to depend on the number of inhabitants, and small municipalities receive less funding ( Eriksson and Kjeang, 2021 ). As a result, local energy advisors often work in several small municipalities, dividing their time between the locations. Funding is currently short-term, usually one year at a time, which causes uncertainty and inability for long-term planning among local energy advisors. Thus, the Swedish Energy Agency on the one hand strengthens the agency of the municipalities as middle actors, through their funding of local energy advisors. On the other hand, the limited and short-term funding creates uncertainty, which risks undermining small municipalities’ agency. This is primarily a risk for small rural municipalities, as they often are unable to fund local energy advisors themselves and have few other civil servants with deeper knowledge of energy and transport issues.; Funding text 2: This work was supported by the Swedish Energy Agency [grant no 47895-1]. We are grateful to everyone who participated in interviews, and to two anonymous reviewers who provided valuable comments which contributed to the development of the paper.
2022-08-022022-08-022025-09-23Bibliographically approved