•Post-mining transformation does not necessarily involve quick change.•Heritage and traditions of mining can become a tool for industrial diversification.•Agents in mining areas have an independent ...capacity to act and can be autonomous.•Soft assets condition actions of human agency at critical junctures.
The article examines the transformation of a mining town to an industrial powerhouse by focusing on relations between specific agents and assets in the community. The objectives of this research are 1) to outline how human agency in a mining town mediated key transformation events, 2) to identify skills or specific capabilities of these agents which enacted changes, and 3) to recognize which (mining-related) assets were used or altered in the process. We take a closer look at Idrija, a former mercury mining town in Slovenia that has been transformed into a successful industrial town, also home to two multinational firms. The study is based on desk-based research, 12 semi-structured interviews with key agents and thematic interview analysis. We discover that the transformation of Idrija has been a gradual process, spanning four decades and consisting of several critical junctures where different types of human agency were required to make changes to existing mining assets. Interpersonal and institutional trust, loyalty, paternalism of incumbent firms, strategic thinking of agents, external market orientation and smallness are some of the soft assets that have proven time and again to be crucial for human agency at critical junctures. These soft assets, especially in institutionally thick post-mining areas, could become a tool for designing visions for the future, matching the expectations and capabilities of mining communities.
The paper critically discusses the reform of the energy sector in the European Union from the beginnings of the liberalisation processes in 1996 until present. Through EU energy policies and relevant ...legislation the goals to achieve are sustainable development, security of supply and competitiveness, together with focussing on the needs of customers. The paper analyses all three above-mentioned pillars and customer protection requirements from the viewpoint: customers should have high quality energy delivered at affordable prices. We call for competitiveness to be further underlined by the market. Despite some concerns related to market models, with the latest impetus from the European institutions the market will, and is able to, develop and to integrate also renewable sources. Where the market does not deliver sufficiently, regulators have to ensure customer protection, especially for vulnerable customers in a period of increasing prices.
•Past and expected future EU (European Union) energy market development and impediments are presented.•A new development objective is formulated, energy policy instruments discussed.•An orientation switch from utility to customer needs and protection is analysed.•Further research in supply chain proposed to reach environmental targets affordably.•New market design, security of supply and environment policy are more equilibrated.
