# Evolution of China's Building Energy Service Industry Based on Synergetic Theory
## 5 Empirical Results
The arrows show the interrelationship between the order parameters of the BESI. The solid line represents a bi-directional relationship, while the dotted line represents a one-directional relationship. In addition, by calculating the mean of the (R + C) values, four quadrants are created. P17, P15, P11, and P9 in the upper right quadrant are considered core factors because of their high prominence and relationship. These factors are of utmost importance for the BESI. P16, P10, P13, and P6 in the upper left quadrant are recognized as driving factors because of their low prominence but high relation to the factors. This group of factors should receive further attention once the previous groups of factors are considered. According to the relationship indicated by the arrows in Figure 7, P9 (quality and quantity of industry professionals), P15 (credit system), P16 (energy-saving certification system), and P17 (standard contract) influence the other order parameters the most; thus, they were considered as the major foundational cause elements. P1 (capability of risk control and management), P8 (industrial  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & **P1** & **P2** & **P3** & **P4** & **P5** & **P6** & **P7** & **P8** &  
structure), and P3 (capability of raising funds) are recognized as the major foundational effect elements. However, the DEMATEL diagram only shows the prominence-causal relationship between the order parameters. According to the synergetic theory, the main order parameters are the leading forces in an industry, and the industry is the integration of the order parameters. To determine the main order parameters, a cluster analysis was conducted to divide the order parameters into several parts (see Figure 8). Figure 8: Cluster analysis of order parameters. Figure 7: Over all DEMATEL prominence-causal relationship diagram. It is shown that the order parameters can be divided into three types: (P1: capability of risk control and management, P16: energy-saving certification system, P12: return on investment, P5: interrelationship between stakeholders, P11: technical level and technological innovation in building energy efficiency, and P2: capability of project implementation), (P8: industrial structure, P15: credit system, P9: quality and quantity of industry professionals, P17: application of standard contract, P7: effective communication, and P3: capability of raising funds), and (P10: accessibility of financial support, P14: labor income level, P6: arrangement of tasks and risk, P13: production efficiency, and P4: capability of building energy auditing). The three types can be summarized as technological innovation, industry standards, and financial support. According to the synergetic theory, these three factors are the main order parameters that guide the development of subsystems in the BESI and lead the industry to order. (1) Technological innovation  
The core competitiveness of the building ESCOs is an irreplaceable factor because the ESCOs only save a larger amount of energy to generate income if their technology is sufficiently advanced. With more widely promoted energy conservation products and technology, ESCOs will profit more due to the larger degree of energy abatement, leading to more ESCOs involved in the BESI. Technological innovation can fully release the vitality of innovation elements such as \"talent, capital, information, and technology\" and achieve the aim of breaking barriers between stakeholders involved in building energy service projects. In detail, scientific research institutions, universities, materials and equipment suppliers, and ESCOs need to share resources, information, and production technology with each other to improve the technology level of the industry. As a result, in the core operation subsystem, it is advisable to improve the capability of ESCOs, while in the production factors subsystem, learning advanced technology and investing more in technological innovation is essential.