Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Genesis of Organizational Forms in Virgin Niches

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In 1978, in response to a rise in petroleum costs from $10 to $50 a barrel, the U.S. Congress passed the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) to encourage power production by non-utilities using alternative energy sources and technology. Virtually overnight, PURPA created a new sector of the power industry by requiring existing utilities to buy electricity from qualifying facilities (QFs) which, by 1992, generated 10 percent of the electricity in the U.S. This doctoral dissertation research project proposes to analyze the ensuing development of this newly created niche using both qualitative methods and empirical analyses of a large database. Relatively few studies focus on resource spaces (niches) in their initial stages. This study explores the reciprocal effects of micro (individual) and macro (regulative and technological structures) variables and how they shape niche development. These concepts are operationalized by an examination of foundings of QFs between 1980 and 1992 and the various micro (entrepreneurial values, social networks, and professional background) and macro (evolving norms and regulation) influences on both the number and organizational form of QFs founded.