Socio-technical Regimes Research Articles

Towards transformative innovation ecosystems: a systemic approach to responsible innovation

ABSTRACT To address societal challenges, innovators committed to responsibility need to find ways to break away from unsustainable, or otherwise undesirable, path-dependencies in sociotechnical regimes. Such path-breaking innovation should not come at the expense of socioethical desirability. The emerging literature on responsible innovation ecosystems has focused on socioethical desirability but has neglected sociotechnical viability beyond a protected niche. Drawing on theoretical insights and concepts from the literature on Responsible Innovation, innovation ecosystems, and transition studies, we distinguish four types of ecosystems along the axes of desirability and viability and discuss examples of these types. We introduce the concept of transformative innovation ecosystems to refer to a type of ecosystem that combines desirability with viability. The concept is developed by bringing theoretical perspectives into conversation with empirical insights from the high-tech research and innovation cluster NeuroSys, which aims to create an ecosystem around brain-inspired computing.

GLOBAL–LOCAL DRIVING FORCES of CHINA’S GREENING of INDUSTRY

ABSTRACT The greening of industry is an inevitable path for developing economies to achieve sustainability transition. However, the specific roles of global and local driving forces are still not substantially understood. This study develops a three-dimensional framework, which includes coercive pressures, normative pressures, and technology acquisition to analyze the influence of global and local drivers on China’s greening of industry. We measure the industrial eco-efficiency (IEE) using Super-SBM model and analyze its influencing factors using the Tobit regression model at the provincial level in China from 2010 to 2020. China’s IEE evolution and its drivers are stage-specific and regionally differentiated, and differences also exist in the roles of global and local drivers. Developing countries initially start the green development of industry under global normative pressures through integration in the global production network. Thereafter, global coercive pressures and local forces, including domestic technologies, market demands, and effective regulations, drive the further greening of industry. The different potentials of regional coercive and normative pressures depend on industrial structures and socio-technical regimes. Policy recommendations for the greening of industry in developing economies are proposed.

Mechanization of artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Guinea: Socio-technical trajectory of a rural mining site in Upper Guinea

Since the beginning of the 21st century, artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in West Africa has undergone intensification and significant development due to the introduction of increasingly mechanized extraction and processing method. Mechanization generates significant transformations in the socio-technical dynamics of artisanal gold mining. In the specific context of ASGM in Upper Guinea, the article argues that small-scale innovations (ie. ‘low noise’ or ‘low technological level’ innovations) are leading to a profound socio-economic transformation of the rural environment over a long period of time. We begin by describing and analyzing the impact of the introduction of minor innovations (metal detectors, solonins and fan motors) on ASGM practices. We then examine the political, social and economic changes brought about by the adoption of these new mechanized practices, again at the rural level. Finally, we discuss the transition toward a new socio-technical regime, questioning the reshaping of local governance and its impact on new configurations of land ownership and use in rural areas.

Sociotechnical transitions in the system for providing beef to human food: Scenarios for cultured meat

The objective of this work was to investigate the possible scenarios of sociotechnical transitions for cultured meat, considering a time horizon of ten years. We employ methodological procedures from the La Prospective School of scenario planning. Through the structural analysis, we identified ten key variables concerning the sociotechnical system of cultured meat, oriented according to the five sociotechnical regimes: technological, scientific, political, socio-cultural, and user and market. Subsequently, based on each key variable, we propose possible key events. The results present plausible scenarios for the next ten years (2022–2032). Using the key events identified based on theoretical contributions of sociotechnical transitions, we propose dynamics and transition paths for the sociotechnical system of supplying cultured meat. Thus, elements inherent to the exogenous landscape, the characteristics of the sociotechnical regimes, and the peculiarities of the aforementioned innovation developed at the technological niche level are highlighted. The findings do not neglect any possibility or transition path, but point to a greater inclination towards the path of transformation and reconfiguration to the detriment of de-alignment and realignment, and technological replacement. Thus, our contributions provide insights and reflections on the plausible paths of these modifications.

Natural resources, socio-technical regimes, and the environmentally sustainable transition: Evidence from OECD countries

The availability of natural resources is critical for an environmentally sustainable transition: greater availability may lead to more exploitation and affect the underlying socio-technical regime, which determines policy strategies and decisions, with significant implications for the environment. By distinguishing countries based on their rate of natural resource depletion, we investigate the differences in supporting socio-technical factors. We use a Panel Vector Auto Regression in first differences on a panel of 36 OECD countries, divided into three sub-panels (‘low’, ‘middle’, and ‘high’) based on their depletion rate, from 1995 to 2021. Some levers, such as economic inequality and the ability to generate rents from resources, exhibit distinct characteristics, suggesting interesting policy implications. Additionally, different structural and technological shifts cause further divergence. The results reveal that in low depletion countries, environmental sustainability is path-dependent, there is no short-sighted interest in maximizing rents from natural resources, and economic inequality (via lobbying) does not hinder the transition. Meanwhile, in these countries, structural and technological changes do not seem to have the same impact on sustainability as they do in high depletion countries.

Keeping up with the decarbonization: Conceptualizing and investigating incumbents’ responses to transition pressures in the post-Paris world

Incumbents are central regime actors who simultaneously adapt to transitions and actively shape them. This study has two objectives: advance the conceptualization around these actors’ behaviors in contemporary transition processes and demonstrate a novel research approach to study this behavior in practice. The focus is on incumbents’ responses to transition-related external pressures. These responses are studied by reviewing related work from organization and management literature, as well as conducting an empirical case study in the aviation sector. The theoretical and empirical insights are combined through flexible pattern matching into a conceptual framework, which simultaneously accommodates a holistic view of different types of responses incumbents use to navigate the complex operating environment, while also supporting particularity that goes beyond strategy talk. For the empirical investigation, this research utilizes incumbent airlines’ transition risk work as a source of information on what external pressures these actors themselves perceive and the responses they operationalize. The empirical case study illustrates how by distinguishing between standard, inconsistent, and unconventional response areas that incumbents take part in, even a snapshot analysis of a contemporary transition phenomenon can reveal what is happening in socio-technical regimes. The analysis also pinpoints how responses have two important characteristics that signify the importance of acknowledging the variety of responses that incumbents have at their disposal: multi-functionality and parallelity. Together, the insights of this paper can support the study and understanding of the complex, heterogeneous, and nuanced behavior of incumbent organizations, and encourage more research efforts on transitions in the making.

Reindeer, rockets and space infrastructures: Enacting oligoptic-satellitarian environments in Northern Sweden

This article focuses on a series of connections between space infrastructures and environments in northern Sweden. Swedish space professionals often highlight the centrality of outer space for contemporary imaginaries about the planet as an interconnected whole. At the same time, the country's sounding rocket range outside the city of Kiruna relies on deep-seated constructions of the subarctic environment as empty wilderness. With the ongoing development of small satellite launch capability, the surrounding landscape needs to be sustained as an impact area, with the consequence that Sámi land practices are increasingly pushed to the sidelines. By turning to reindeer herders’ own uses of satellite technology, I delineate an oligoptic-satellitarian environment that runs athwart panopticonic understandings of satellite vision. Rather than trying to see everything from nowhere, the herders bring into view a limited set of more-than-human relations in order to challenge conceptions of the landscape as empty and exploitable. While showing that space activities in Sweden fold into and reproduce colonial histories, the article also argues that space infrastructures contain the potential for their own reconfiguration by eliciting the other worlds that are already being performed from within dominant socio-technical regimes.

Expectations on biochar as a climate solution in Sweden: Carbon dioxide removal with environmental co-benefits

While carbon dioxide removal is indispensable in net-zero climate policy, incentives to deploy removals are limited. Swedish public support to biochar is one exception. This paper draws on the Swedish case to explore expectations put on biochar and the significance of public support for fulfilling these expectations. The analysis shows that biochar is expected to contribute to several environmental objectives. However, while biochar producers and users voice expectations on strengthening the multifunctionality of landscapes, e.g., improved ecosystem resilience and reduced nutrient run-off, the authorities rather narrowly direct attention to the stability of biochar as a carbon storage. Nevertheless, public support is contributing to a small but important protective space for biochar development through three channels: First, through investment grants, which are crucial for the emerging Swedish biochar production capacity. Second, through demand-pull created by municipalities that specify high environmental safeguards, which favours domestic production over import. Third, indirectly through support of production facilities that enable intermediary activities for gathering and sharing knowledge. However, while recent changes to EU state aid regulation may be a game-changer, EU has until now acted as a barrier to support to carbon dioxide removal. This socio-technical regime resistance, combined with a lack of jointly articulated expectations on biochar, appear to have been preventing deployment on more significant scale.

Pulp addiction? Perspectives of local regime actors on the development of the growing pulp industry in Uruguay

The pulp and paper industry is one of the largest industries in the world. The main actors are a few multi-national enterprises operating in global markets. The industry is increasingly moving its production to the Global South, which alters global pulp value chains and the national socio-technical regimes of those countries. Additionally, the sustainability paradigm and transition to bioeconomy are challenging the pulp and paper industry of today. We conducted semi-structured expert interviews, analyzed, and interpreted the findings through the multi-level perspective framework. The study aims to advance knowledge on how the local regime actors inside the pulp regime perceive the development of the Uruguayan pulp industry since the MNEs established operations in Uruguay until 2018. Our findings suggest that local regime actors see that the Uruguayan pulp industry regime and its' development is highly influenced by multinational enterprises and the way they organized their global value chains. Uruguay's role in the global pulp industry value chain remains as a material resource provider, which has not improved the innovation capacity of the country particularly. The interviewees however feel that this is a key issue to develop in the country. Thus, we suggest that a transition to a sustainable bioeconomy in Uruguay would require steps forward in the immaterial resource base with closer cooperation between the industrial actors, the national research and education actors, and local small and medium-sized enterprises. In large-scale Global North–Global South investments a true collaboration between the multi-national enterprises and local regime actors is crucial for reaching a strongly sustainable bioeconomy.

An Analysis of Emerging Renewable Hydrogen Policy through an Energy Democracy Lens: The Case of Australia

As part of reducing carbon emissions, governments across the world are working on measures to transition sectors of the economy away from fossil fuels. The socio-technical regimes being constructed around the energy transition can encourage energy centralisation and constrain actor engagement without proper policy and planning. The energy transition is liable to have significant impacts across all of society, but less attention has been given to the role of democratic participation and decision-making in the energy system during this time. Using the energy democracy framework developed by Kacper Szulecki, we employ content analysis to investigate how Australia’s renewable hydrogen strategies at the Commonwealth and state levels engage with the broader objective of democratising energy systems. Based on our findings, we recommend ways to support a renewable hydrogen regime in Australia in line with the principles of energy democracy, such as community engagement, built-in participation, popular sovereignty, community-level agency, and civic ownership. This study provides a perspective on the energy transition that is often overlooked, and a reminder to policymakers that the topology of an energy transition can take many forms.

Moving beyond COVID-19: Break or continuity in the urban mobility regime?

Upon its irruption in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic spurred a flurry of reflection on its potential long-term effects on urban mobility. Despite widespread speculation about the likely permanent impacts of the pandemic on urban mobility, few academic accounts have re-examined the extent to which these speculations were warranted once the pandemic is over. To this end, the present article explores the retrospective perceptions of key stakeholders regarding the long-term impacts of the pandemic on the urban mobility regime, through a qualitative case study of the Barcelona Metropolitan Region, involving 22 semi-structured interviews. Approaching urban mobility through the lens of sociotechnical regimes and the multilevel perspective (MLP), we identify key perceived changes to the urban mobility regime in the aftermath of the pandemic, as well as four main obstacles to effecting transformative change towards sustainable urban mobility during the “window of opportunity” created by the pandemic. Our findings suggest that the pandemic has generally not led to significant changes in the urban mobility regime, with two key exceptions: the normalisation of teleworking, and the consolidation of tactical urbanism approaches to street redesign. These findings confirm the obduracy of the existing urban mobility regime, while pointing to promising inroads which might result in the transformation or destabilization of the current regime.

Pathways to sustainable transitions in a complex agricultural system: a case study of swine waste management in North Carolina

North Carolina has a high density of swine farms with nearly half of the commercial operations located in two eastern counties. Lagoon and sprayfield (LS) is the dominant method of swine manure management despite pressure to transition to environmentally superior technologies. LS is an efficient and cost-effective method of waste management but has negatively impacted the environment and local communities from both discreet events (breeches, flooding) and ongoing issues (odor, disease vectors). The Multilevel Perspective Theory (MLP) is a frame for understanding the relationships between a sociotechnical regime, its surrounding landscape, and emerging niches for sustainable technology development to help align these different levels of perspective and support transitioning toward more sustainable practices. Here, a farm level is added to represent the user perspective of regime technology in complex agriculture systems (MLP + F). We demonstrate how change may influence the North Carolina swine waste management (NC SWM) system through alternative scenarios applied to a conceptual model developed with the MLP + F frame in a methodology for analyzing complex agricultural systems with input from a diverse panel of experts. This case study demonstrates how the methodology can be applied through two NC SWM model scenarios analyzed with fuzzy cognitive mapping techniques. The first scenario explores whether panel recommended changes generate a shift toward sustainable manure management. Inference results suggest that experts have a broad understanding of how these goals may be achieved, but strategies are needed to enhance the specificity of proposed changes. Testing scenarios with more targeted interventions within specific subsystems could provide greater guidance with regard to policy, economic factors, farm practices, or societal demands. The second scenario considers the systemic effect of introducing a manure dewatering process on swine operations, with and without landscape support. Results from this scenario indicate that the more landscape support is engaged, the greater the impact on desirable outcomes. However, contradictions emerged between different versions of this scenario such as increased negative public perceptions despite positive community outcomes. This may require further investigation to tease out potential misalignment between perceptions of a complex system and actual system behaviors.

Experiences and lessons for China's energy transition: From the firewood era to the low carbon era

China is currently facing a critical challenge in completing its second radical energy transition from fossil to zero-carbon energy amidst the impacts of climate change and the international landscape. In order to clarify the concept of energy transition and the challenges facing China's energy transition, this paper adopts a research framework with Multi-Level Perspective to sort out China's energy history. Drawing on China's energy transition experience, this paper derives four key conclusions. Firstly, the energy transition is a comprehensive transformation of the energy system, which is influenced by the macro landscape, socio-technical regime and innovation niche. Secondly, based on the intensity of the transition, the historical energy transitions can be divided into two categories: incremental energy transitions and radical energy transitions. Thirdly, China's past energy transitions are mainly incremental energy transitions. Influenced by the macro environment and socio-technical regime, the transition process is mostly iterative and tortuous. Fourthly, China's energy transition is facing significant challenges in the current stage, with a tight schedule and heavy tasks, and a lack of basic scientific and technological theories and niche innovations. Building on these findings, specific recommendations to policy makers are provided.

Transition to battery-electric and fuel cell heavy-duty trucks: A multi-level, multi-dimensional approach

Battery electric (BE-HDT) and fuel cell heavy-duty trucks (FC-HDT) as niche products have the potential to decarbonize road freight transportation, but widespread introduction is challenging. Scientific research on this transition remains scarce, and studies including hydrogen are very limited. Successful changes in long-established regimes require multiple processes, and therefore, the multi-level perspective (MLP) is extended with the PESTLE analysis. Through this multi-level, multi-dimensional approach, the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental dimensions underpin a systematic identification of factors in niches, socio-technical regimes, and exogenous landscapes. The research design draws on 40 high-level expert interviews, highlighting the complex change process through 27 indicators. Identified opportunities, barriers, and recommendations for action assist in formulating transition strategies. Conflicting expectations require a cooperative approach, as cost-neutrality to internal combustion engine heavy-duty trucks (ICE-HDT) is frequently debated and range extension a relative factor. Policymakers need to create optimal framework conditions for investing, profit-oriented companies.

A transition towards clean propulsion in shipping: The role of PESTLE drivers and implications for policy

In the context of the ongoing green transition within the maritime sector, this study seeks to explore the interplay of factors influencing the development of clean propulsion technologies. We identify the drivers underpinning the shift towards cleaner propulsion in maritime operations and outline the implications for the future of such technologies. This research is a result of industry-academia effort to develop a collective vision and strategy for a consortium of companies within propulsion sector. The market drivers are identified as part of a technology roadmapping process following PESTLE framework. Additionally, we employ the MICMAC method to discern dependencies and influences among these drivers. The findings indicate that certain drivers, such as fuel pricing and economic incentives, wield considerable independent influence, whereas others, including green financing, political will, and emission targets, exhibit substantial influence but are interdependent with other variables. Overall, most of the 30 drivers identified in the study both influence and depend on other drivers, creating a complex and uncertain system. This research contributes empirically to a holistic understanding of the intricate interplay among diverse market drivers in the context of clean propulsion in the maritime sector. Theoretically, it unveils the interdependent structure of socio-technical regimes and its implications in terms of “windows of opportunity” for niche development.

Sustainability Transition Framework: An Integrated Conceptualisation of Sustainability Change

Responding to calls for climate action, this article develops and introduces a Sustainability Transition Framework (STF), which is a high-level interpretation of the complex dynamics dominating the current historical moment characterised by an aspiration for accelerated climate action and challenges with implementing change. This STF brings together and integrates a set of theories about change which were developed in different disciplines and not commonly discussed at the same time. The four key theories are: (1) sustainability transitions, transition management and related theories which consider the necessary change in sociotechnical regimes; (2) diffusion of innovation theory, which provides a high-level overview of patterns with uptake of innovation; (3) a change curve which explains complex emotional experiences when facing organisational change; and (4) a conceptualisation of the style cycle, which is commonly used in the history of art and architecture. These are visually depicted and integrated into a novel STF diagram. The STF presents one of the most comprehensive integrations of currently available knowledge on how change happens, which is essential for accelerated climate action. The STF helps understand individual or social group experiences. Through an improved understanding of the sustainability transition, the STF empowers climate action.

The energy transition at a critical juncture

Abstract Amid the Ukraine war, the energy transition has reached a critical juncture: decisions taken by key governmental or commercial actors may irreversibly threaten efforts to limit the rise in global average temperature to 1.5°C. After defining the notions of ‘energy transition’ and ‘critical juncture’, this article describes how the ‘international law of energy’ may both entrench a socio-technical regime based on fossil fuels and promote the transition towards renewable energy. These categories serve to frame several contributions to a symposium, which assist in mapping the rules, processes, and institutions that organize the decisional options of key actors as they try to drive the energy transition through this critical juncture. We conclude by recalling the practical utility of this dynamic map and the pressing need for an authoritative compass to give interpretive direction to the legal organization of the entitlements, obligations, and decisional options of key actors in reorienting energy activities to avoid the catastrophic tipping points of climate change.

Smooth sailing ahead? Policy options for China's new energy vehicle industry in the post-subsidy era

The Chinese government views the development of new energy vehicles (NEVs) as a key measure to achieve sustainable development. In 2020, the government proposed the development goals of achieving carbon peak in the automotive industry around 2028 and ensuring NEV sales account for over 50 % by 2035 (referred to as the “two objectives”). Against the backdrop of the cancellation of NEV purchase subsidies in 2023, it is crucial to investigate the direction and intensity of various industry policies' effects and actively adjust industrial policies to achieve the “two objectives”. From the perspective of the Multi-level Perspective (MLP), the technological transition in the automotive industry is a process of legitimacy transfer between new and old technologies driven by the interaction of socio-technical landscape, socio-technical regime, and niches at three levels. This paper, based on the MLP, constructs a system dynamics (SD) model that includes four loops: research and development (R&D), production, sales, and legitimacy competition. Using the SD model, we analyze the direction and intensity of existing policies, in addition to five potential policies, to achieve the objectives. Our findings indicate that without policy adjustments, China's current measures will not meet the “two objectives” in a timely manner. Prioritizing battery recycling, curtailing fuel vehicle (FV) production, facilitating scrapping of FVs and enacting carbon trading policies are pivotal for progress, contrasting with the modest impact of R&D subsidies. A coordinated policy strategy coupled with expedited carbon trading initiatives is essential for the NEV sector's post-subsidy transition to meet the objectives.

Barriers and Drivers to Adoption of Water Reuse In Buildings: A Sociotechnical Analysis in Ceará, Brazil

Purpose: This study aims to identify the barriers and drivers towards the adoption of water reuse systems in buildings in regions with water scarcity, such as the Brazilian Northeast. Method: A qualitative study was carried out in the state of Ceará, Brazil. The study encompassed the analysis of content from seventeen in-depth interviews and documentary evidence. Results and conclusion: The primary adoption drivers were found to be economic savings through consumption reduction and environmental awareness. Main barriers included the initial investment and payback time, as well as user practices, such as residents' lack of system maintenance. In addition, political and institutional aspects, such as the absence of fiscal incentives, also played a key role. In conclusion, water reuse in buildings constitutes an innovation that requires further development to promote significant adjustments of the socio-technical regime. Originality/value: This research introduces innovation by conducting an analysis of the adoption of water reuse in buildings based on the multi-level perspective of socio-technical transitions towards sustainability. It focuses on a state in the Brazilian Northeast, whose territory is primarily situated in the Caatinga biome, characterized by a semi-arid climate and a history of severe drought cycles. Research implications: The results provide valuable insights for researchers, technology developers, and policymakers to develop actions that stimulate the implementation and diffusion of water reuse in buildings.

On public policies in the energy transition: Evidence on the role of socio-technical regimes for renewable technologies

Our purpose is to contribute to the debate on the energy transition by investigating the role of social, technical, political, and cultural aspects in stimulating the export of renewable technologies (RTs). The literature draws attention to the need to complement public policies with a supportive socio-technical regime, even if evidence is scarce. We maintain that countries' capability in environment-related technologies, public concern and awareness of climate change, and understanding of its damaging effects are relevant drivers, alongside renewable energy policies. Moreover, we expect that such socio-technical drivers, if operating together, amplify the stimulus of policies. We test these arguments through a panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model in first differences in the EU over the period 1996–2020. Due to heterogeneity across countries, we test the determinants on high-performing countries. Results confirm the role of public awareness and show that the export of RTs is also stimulated by increases in the share of environment-related technologies and understanding of climate change. Countries' capability in green technologies is also supported by increases in public awareness and understanding of the climate issue.