Inter organizational collaboration for energy efficiency in the maritime sector: the case of a database project
This article explores the complexities of establishing knowledge sharing practices between organizations through a case study of the creation of a database for energy efficiency measures relevant to the shipping sector. As researchers and policy makers tend to point towards knowledge sharing and collaboration as means towards a more energy efficient society, there is a need to better understand the knowledge sharing practices in such initiatives. The study is based upon extensive fieldwork where the first author was recruited to a collaborative network on energy efficiency in the shipping sector, to aid in the development of the collaboration while carrying out participatory observational research in an ethnographic tradition. The study highlights the need to maintain realistic expectations for new knowledge sharing collaborations, and the necessity to allow such arrangements to develop over time.