Benefits Achieved by Energy Suppliers through Cooperation with Individual Recipients and Their Readiness for This Cooperation

Abstract

The aim of this article is to identify the benefits perceived by individual recipients that are achieved by consumer energy suppliers on the market, through multilateral trade cooperation, and to define the structure of these benefits according to the declared readiness of recipients to cooperate with the suppliers. The results of the analysis of the available literature on the subject indicate that there is a cognitive and research gap in relation to the perceived benefits achieved by the suppliers through joint marketing activities. The benefits are not being analyzed; especially from the perspective of individual recipients’ readiness for this cooperation. This gap is noticeable not only in relation to the energy market, but also in other areas of the consumer market. In an effort to reduce the identified gap, an online survey was conducted among 1196 adult individual energy recipients in Poland. The primary data collected was subjected to quantitative analysis using the following research methods: average grade analysis, comparative analysis, and exploratory factor analysis. The Kruskal–Wallis test was also conducted. The results of the quantitative analysis indicate, inter alia, that the majority of the respondents declared their readiness to cooperate with energy suppliers on the preparation of marketing offers. This variable statistically significantly differentiated nine out of twelve analyzed benefits that, according to the respondents, suppliers obtain as a result of cooperation. This differentiation was not found only in the case of three benefits related to the cost-free acquisition of recipient potential. For all respondents, as well as for the respondents willing to cooperate with suppliers and for those who did not express such willingness, three sections were identified, including the respondents who saw the same benefits achieved by suppliers. The conclusions drawn on the basis of the analysis results constitute a significant contribution to the theory of marketing and the theory of market behavior of individual recipients in the energy market. They also bear clear application advantages, making it easier for energy suppliers to effectively initiate cooperation with individual recipients and/or strengthen this cooperation.