**Establishing Energy E** ffi**ciency—Drivers for Energy E** ffi**ciency in German Manufacturing Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises**

#### **Werner König 1,\*, Sabine Löbbe 1, Stefan Büttner 2 and Christian Schneider 2**


 **\***Correspondence:Werner.Koenig@Reutlingen-University.de;Tel.:+49-7121-271-7136

Received: 9 June 2020; Accepted: 29 September 2020; Published: 2 October 2020

**Abstract:** Despite strong political e fforts in Europe, industrial small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seem to neglect adopting practices for energy e fficiency. By taking a cultural perspective, this study investigated what drives the establishment of energy e fficiency and corresponding practices in SMEs. Based on 10 ethnographic case studies and a quantitative survey among 500 manufacturing SMEs, the results indicate the importance of everyday employee behavior in achieving energy savings. The studied enterprises value behavior-related measures as similarly important as technical measures. Raising awareness for energy issues within the organization, therefore, constitutes an essential leadership task that is oftentimes perceived as challenging and frustrating. It was concluded that the embedding of energy e fficiency in corporate strategy, the use of a broad spectrum of di fferent practices, and the empowerment and involvement of employees serve as major drivers in establishing energy e fficiency within SMEs. Moreover, the findings reveal institutional influences on shaping the meanings of energy e fficiency for the SMEs by raising attention for energy e fficiency in the enterprises and making energy e fficiency decisions more likely. The main contribution of the paper is to o ffer an alternative perspective on energy e fficiency in SMEs beyond the mere adoption of energy-e fficient technology.

**Keywords:** industrial energy e fficiency; energy e fficiency culture; energy e fficiency practices; energy managemen<sup>t</sup>
