Short summary of dissertation:

The issue of climate change develops into one of the dominant themes of our time and the way how companies respond to it may have major implications for their future success. This holds particularly true for the companies of the gas sector and their traditional focus on the fossil fuel natural gas. The political commitment to climate change mitigation might have disruptive impact on their business models. To better understand the strategic options which gas sector companies have in such a context, this dissertation provides, in a first step, a comprehensive macro level review of potential contributions of the gas sector to the establishment of a climate-neutral energy system incl. the societal implications. In a second step, this dissertation focuses on the organizational level of gas sector companies and adds to both literature and research on companies’ strategic responses to institutional pressures of climate change. In this context, it is also investigated, whether and how these companies decouple their strategies and activities from these institutional pressures. Thirdly, this dissertation investigates the central role of public energy utilities in climate change mitigation and contributes to the academic debate on hybrid organizations and their strategies within a complex institutional environment. These findings of the dissertation have practical implications also. They offer an explanation why progress with climate change mitigation has been slow and suggest how to break up this deadlock to prevent further delays on the way towards a more sustainable and climate-friendly society.