Banca de DEFESA: Luciana Oliveira Militão

The relevance of trust between key actors for value co-creation and prevention of value co-destruction in the energy transition Brazilian photovoltaic

Trust; value co-creation; value co-destruction; photovoltaic energy transition; energy community.

Energy communities are driving the photovoltaic energy transition by generating clean, renewable energy from solar energy. They involve citizens, the government and other actors in the provision of photovoltaic energy services. However, in the current scenario of citizens’ lack of trust in the government, it is necessary to understand how other trust relationships between actors involved can contribute to the co-creation of value and the prevention of co-destruction of value in this public service. In this context, the aim of this thesis was to analyze the relevance of trust between key actors for the co-creation of value and the prevention of co-destruction of value in the Brazilian energy transition. The research is exploratory-descriptive and its approach is qualitative. The study adopted a single case study of the ecosystem formed around the first photovoltaic energy generation cooperative in Minas Gerais. This region has the highest installed capacity of photovoltaic energy in the national ranking. Data were collected through documentary research and interviews carried out with multiple actors. Data analysis was conducted using content analysis techniques. Initially, the multiple actors in the photovoltaic energy service ecosystem were identified and grouped based on their characteristics and functions. The results revealed new aspects of trust propensity, highlighting the relevance of this construct that has received little attention in trust research. Three practices and four resources integrated into service encounters were identified. The research findings revealed that energy users’ trust in service ecosystem can drive value perception and prevent value loss. In the end, the key actors for the energy community trust network under analysis were identified. These results can contribute to future research on trust, value co-creation and value co-destruction, as well as to the managerial, economic and social development of energy communities and the consequent advancement of the environmental sustainability agenda.