Similarly, within the Joint Researc

Similarly, within the Joint Research Programme of the Dutch
Water Supply Sector, research has been carried out on the added
value of consumer-oriented innovations for Dutch water supply
companies. Some utility managers observe that consumers, in spite
of the high service level provided by the Dutch water supply companies,
are becoming increasingly critical and demanding for example
with respect to the sustainability performance of industries. Water
companies are now confronted with the challenge to make the shift
from just being a water supplier towards becoming a customeroriented
service provider with a high sustainability profile and a
‘licence to deliver’.
The emphasis on consumers or citizens as end user of utility
products and services fits into a broader pattern of change taking
place in utility sectors in many European countries. Whereas,
until the 1980s most utilities in western countries were publicly
owned and provided uniform services to captive consumers, making
water a low involvement and low-cost product [2], nowadays
this uniformity is dissolving due to liberalization of utility markets
and private participation in utility service provision [3,4].
The provision and consumption of utility services now take place
within the context of splintering or differentiating networks,
linking consumers and providers in various ways [5,6]. Such
changes in services, their modes of provision and their implications
for consumer lifestyles have also been conceptualized
in literature on water utility management and water consumption.
In this literature, one can witness a conceptual shift from