Barriers for Prosumers’ Open Business Models: A Resource-Based View on Assets and Data-Sharing in Electricity Markets

Abstract

This article explores the barriers for open business models in support of sustainability in electricity markets. It puts forward privacy and data protection concerns about sharing prosumers’ physical assets as well as data due to to their critical role in decentralized modes of electricity/flexibility trading. In particular, it uses a multiple case study approach to identify actors’ resources, examine other interested actors in each resource, define their objectives, and consider privacy and data protection concerns of sharing prosumers’ physical assets and data. The findings yield new insights into sharing opportunities beyond electricity/flexibility trading. In doing so, our study contributes to theories of the firm by applying the resource-based view in a new context and to the business model literature by shedding light on barriers in applying open business models.