Invernizzi, DC, Locatelli, G orcid.org/0000-0001-9986-2249, Brookes, N et al. (1 more author) (2020) Qualitative comparative analysis as a method for project studies: The case of energy infrastructure. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 133. 110314. ISSN 1364-0321
Abstract
Empirical research involving projects is an important and common way to advance knowledge in the energy sector, and there are well-established approaches for qualitative analysis of single or few cases (1–10 cases) as well as quantitative analysis of large databases (from 50+ cases). However, the “middle-ground” of analysing 10–50 cases is an unknown territory, and very few approaches exist to deal with numbers of cases that lie in the range of 10–50. This paper shows how this “middle-ground” can be explored through Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). This is a method that can be applied to energy infrastructure projects (such as construction, operations, and decommissioning of power plants) in order to study causal inference (e.g. factors associated with outcomes). This paper demonstrates the potential of QCA by showing its application on an energy infrastructure phenomenon with an intermediate number of cases, that of nuclear decommissioning projects. These projects are becoming increasingly important to society and have multibillion US dollar budgets. Moreover, their characteristics need to urgently be matched with their project performance in order to avoid even further cost overruns. The application of QCA to 24 European nuclear decommissioning projects shows that a combination of characteristics (such as a streamlined governance structure and the presence of a storage facility for radioactive material on site) might be contributing to lower cost overruns. This paper concludes by showing how QCA can be applied to other energy infrastructure phenomena with a similar intermediate number of cases.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of an article published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Research method; Qualitative comparative analysis; Megaproject; Small-medium size; End-of-Life; Nuclear decommissioning |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number National Nuclear Laboratory Limited NNL/UA/002 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 14 Sep 2020 11:31 |
Last Modified: | 21 Sep 2021 00:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.rser.2020.110314 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:165477 |