Why the Lights Went Out: A Capability Perspective on the Unintended Consequences of Sector Reforms
| Autor: | Anton Eberhard, Mundia Kabinga, Bernhard Truffer, Hagen Worch, Jochen Markard |
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| Rok vydání: | 2013 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Duality by design. The global race to build Africa's infrastructure |
| ISSN: | 2151-6561 0065-0668 |
| DOI: | 10.5465/aomafr.2012.0114 |
| Popis: | South Africa experienced severe power outages between 2005 and 2008. The power crisis is commonly explained by inadequate generation capacity, badly maintained power plants and insufficient coal supply. In this paper, we go a step further and examine the underlying reasons responsible for deficiencies in power supply at the level of the utility firm Eskom, South Africa's national electricity supplier. We show that electricity sector reform processes and the socio-political transformation in South Africa affected Eskom's capability structure considerably. This led to a substantial loss of critical competences and skills at the firm level, which not only worsened planning, operation and maintenance procedures but also made swift reactions to the crisis impossible. We argue that regulatory measures and other external factors can have a far-reaching impact on the organizational capabilities of utilities. Once these capabilities are lost they may be very hard to regain. With the 'capability perspective' presen... |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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