Illustrating the use of concepts from the discipline of policy studies in energy research: An explorative literature review

•Policy studies’ theory is under-utilized in energy research.•Policy studies’ concepts are embedded in integrated research frameworks.•More attention is needed from policy studies scholars to the energy domain.•Four key energy policy research clusters were identified in the literature.•Potential for use of policy studies’ concepts in energy research.

With the increasing challenges the energy sector faces, energy policy strategies and instruments are becoming ever more relevant. The discipline of policy studies might offer relevant concepts to enrich multidisciplinary energy research. The main research question of this article is: How can policy studies contribute to multidisciplinary energy research, and in how far does research on energy policy actually use the concepts of policy studies? The article presents key theoretical concepts from the discipline of policy studies and shows how they can be of use in multidisciplinary energy research. This is illustrated by presenting the results of a systematic review of academic literature on the use of policy studies concepts in academic literature on energy policy in The Netherlands. Results reveal the main theoretical concepts that were used as well as the identification of major research clusters. Results also show that many concepts from policy studies were actually integrated into eclectic theoretical frameworks.