Figure 1
Energy sources in rural housing cooperatives. a) Heating technologies. b) The annual increase in energy expenditures between 2022 and 2021.
Source: Own elaboration based on administrative data on housing cooperatives.
Figure 2
Selection of housing cooperatives to the study.
Source: Own elaboration based on administrative data.
Table 1
Interviewed housing cooperative board members.
| # | GENDER | AGE | NO OF BUILDINGS | HEATING SOURCE | REGION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | man | 46 | 6 | Heat pumps + photovoltaics | Warmia and Masuria |
| 02 | man | 44 | 4 | ||
| 03 | woman | 71 | 4 | Coal | Pomerania |
| 04 | man | 68 | 8 | Coal + wood |
[i] Source: Own elaboration based on information obtained during the fieldwork.
Table 2
Activities undertaken during the energy crisis by rural housing cooperatives in Poland.
| ATTITUDES | ACTIVITIES | DESCRIPTION | FREQUENCY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reactive | Increase in service fees | Increases in heating fees, maintenance fund contributions, or rent | often |
| Suspension of investments | Limitation of long-term and current renovation plans, cancellation of certain investments | ||
| Depletion of resources | Utilisation of resource reserves, reallocation of funds from maintenance reserves | ||
| Getting into debt | Failure to regulate current liabilities, counting on better economic conditions | occasionally | |
| Cooperative closure | Discontinuation of heating or hot water provision, conversion or transformation of a housing cooperative into an association | rare | |
| Proactive | Increase energy efficiency | Reduction of consumption through repairs and maintenance in boiler rooms or changes in fuel types | often |
| Negotiations on the energy market | Negotiations with various suppliers, i.e. direct coal procurement from mines, taking advantage of shield state support (energy price freezes), tariff switching | ||
| Voluntary work | The utilisation of internal resources (e.g., the community work of the board members), performing own repairs | occasionally | |
| Fuel stacking | Supplementing the primary heating source, using other stoves | ||
| Energy transition | Replacing the heating source | rare | |
| Collective | Expecting solidarity | Expectation of targeted heating contributions from residents, funded by government allocations | often |
| Mobilising and educating residents | Meetings with residents, appeals for energy conservation, information on entitled rights (e.g., housing allowances), and education on the necessity of regular payments | occasionally | |
| Seeking external help | Seeking funds and grants from other entities and appeals from members of parliament/senators to resolve the problematic situation. | rare |
[i] Source: Own elaboration based on registry data.
Table 3
The most popular approach and strategies of impression management.
| APPROACH | TYPE | STRATEGY | PERCENTAGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crisis attribution | Defensive | External attribution | 35% |
| Justification | 31% | ||
| Resourceful management | Assertive | Self-promotion | 10% |
| Exemplification | 7% | ||
| Enhancement | 1% | ||
| Deliberate silence | Defensive | Selectivity | 7% |
| Omission | 3% | ||
| Concealment | 2% | ||
| Other | Mixed | performance comparisons, internal attribution, ingratiation, restitution, supplication, organisational handicapping, apologies 7 | 4% |
[i] Source: Own elaboration based on housing cooperative reports.
Table 4
Attitudes, approaches and dominant strategies in visited housing cooperatives.
| # | DOMINANT ATTITUDE | ACTIONS | APPROACH | DOMINANT STRATEGIES | HEATING SOURCES | SITUATION | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||||
| 01 | Reactive | Increase in service fees, seeking external help | x | x | External attribution, justification, concealment | heat pumps and photovoltaics | failure | ||
| 02 | Proactive | Energy transition, suspension of other investments, mobilising and educating | x | x | Justification, external attribution, self-promotion | success | |||
| 03 | Reactive and collaborative | Increase in service, negotiations on the energy market, expecting solidarity, getting into debt | x | x | Apologies, external attribution, justification | coal | failure | ||
| 04 | Proactive and collaborative | Increase in service fees, increase energy efficiency, energy transition (fuel stacking), expecting solidarity | x | x | Justification, selectivity, concealment | coal and wood | success | ||
[i] Note: Approaches: 1 – crisis attribution; 2 – resourceful management; 3 – deliberate silence; 4 – others.
Source: Own elaboration based on administrative data and fieldwork.