Dynamic Cost–Benefit Analysis of Digitalization in the Energy Industry
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Assessing the benefits and costs of digitalization in the energy industry is a complex issue. Traditional cost–benefit analysis (CBA) might encounter problems in addressing uncertainties, dynamic stakeholder interactions, and feedback loops arising out of the evolving nature of digitalization. This paper introduces a methodological framework to help address the intricate inter connections between digital applications and business models in the energy industry. The proposed framework leverages system dynamics to achieve two primary objectives. It investigates how digitalization generally influences the value proposition, value capture, and value creation dimensions of business models. It also quantifies the financial and social impacts of digitalization from a dynamic perspective. The proposed dynamic CBA allows for a more precise quantification of the benefits and costs, associated with evidence-based decision-making. Findings from an illustrative case study challenge the static assumptions of conventional methods. These methods often presume continuous operation, neglecting reinvestment and operational feedback loops, and resulting in negative net present values. Conversely, the outcomes of the proposed method indicate positive net present values when accounting for factors such as reinvestment rates and the willingness to invest in digitalization projects. The principles outlined in this paper can enable a more accurate assessment of digitalization projects, thus catalyzing the development of new CBA applications and guidelines for digitalization.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.006 | 0.011 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.003 | 0.002 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.004 | 0.005 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.005 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".