Multi-system dynamics in regional path upgrading: The intra- and inter-path dynamics of green industrial transitions in the Solent marine and maritime pathway

Abstract

Industries and regions are facing socio-technical landscape pressures to enter green transitions. Coastal industrial regions, often with traditional heavy industries in marine and maritime activities, are under both significant pressures from international organizations and governments to decarbonise, but also find themselves with sizeable opportunities to use green transitions to revitalize and upgrade what are typically declining traditional manufacturing regions. Using 30 semi-structured interviews, we explore the challenges facing green path upgrading in the Solent region of South-East UK. By synthesizing the emerging economic geography literature on inter-path dynamics with the multi-system dynamics approach from the multi-level perspective literature, we find evidence of eight green niches emerging, yet the five main marine and maritime socio-technical systems in the region have struggled to develop and integrate these green technology niches. Consequently, path upgrading has been stifled. We find that the competitive intra-path dynamics between socio-technical systems and emerging technology niches within the Solent marine and maritime pathway, and competitive inter-path dynamics with other industrial pathways beyond the Solent have inhibited the co-ordination and coupling necessary for resource mobilization and green path upgrading. This approach enables us to broaden existing economic geography perspectives of multi-path dynamics, conceptualizing how inter- and intra-path development may work in economic geography, which has thus far mainly focused on single path dynamics and successful path creation.