Collaborate globally or die locally: The challenge of internationalization of the German mining sector

Abstract

At the end of 2018, all European economic subsidies in the mining sector will be eliminated. As a result, coal-mining regions in Europe now face a stark challenge to either “move with the times” or “go to the wall”. A possible alternative is the internationalization of the sector by way of projects around the world. This article explores a wide selection of mining firms and thermal power stations, located in the main coal producing regions of Germany. It seeks to discover the sector’s strategic culture, capacity to initiate collaboration projects, and evaluate current international cooperation projects. The results obtained confirm that internationalisation is a possible strategy for the survival of the sector, as well s other innovations which could take place.