Grassroots social innovation and the mobilisation of values in collaborative consumption: a conceptual model

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThere is growing interest in the potential of grassroots innovations to play a role in the transition to sustainable production and consumption systems. However, the role of values has been little considered in relation to the development and diffusion of grassroots innovations. We develop a conceptual model of how citizens' values are mobilised by grassroots innovations, drawing on the value theory of Schwartz et al. (2012) and the theory of collective enactment of values of Chen et al. (2013). Using the results of a large scale survey of free reuse groups (e.g. Freecycle and Freegle), which enable collaborative forms of consumption, we apply the conceptual model to explore how participants' values are mobilised and expressed. We show that while the majority of free reuse group participants do hold significantly stronger self-transcendence (i.e. pro-social) values than the wider UK population, they also hold other values in common with that population and a minority actually place less emphasis on selftranscendence values. We conclude that diffusion of this particular grassroots innovation is unlikely to be simply value limited and that structural features may be more significant.

Grassroots Initiatives as Sustainability Transition Pioneers: Implications and Lessons for Urban Food Systems

“…Transitions are embedded in broader institutional contexts, the environments that select, shape and guide development courses over time [12,34,35,53,55,67,84,86,103,108]. However, the spatiality of transitions and grassroots innovations to date has received little attention in literature [16,35,41,74,100].…”

“…A common obstacle grassroots initiatives encounter is the absence of resources such as financing, active members and time [39,57,64,70,[77][78][79]. Barriers to change include lock-ins to unsustainable regulations, market conditions and behavioural motivations, both at regime and landscape level [2,17,53,83,84]. Understanding the motives and strategies of actors on the ground is critical for making transitions socially robust and sustainable [37,70,88].…”

“…In this way, Foodsharing was created subsequent to the movie "Taste the Waste" that also stimulated a deeper societal discourse on preventing food waste on the meta-level. A key experience or narrative can induce a revaluation of the necessity of change-as may internal value systems or worldviews, particularly if they contradict with those prevailing in the individual's environment [37,53,57]. The prospect of a better life quality can serve as alternative motivation-as can feeling responsible for contemporary unsustainability and the need to change it, as well as empathy with those most vulnerable, e.g., people in developing countries and future generations.…”

Commercial orientation in grassroots social innovation: Insights from the sharing economy

“…Members contact each other directly in response to a post. The members then arrange a time and location to pass on the item, often the member receiving the item will collect it from the home of the member gifting it (Martin and Upham, 2015: 3). The items typically gifted included furniture and other domestic goods such as consumer electronics and kitchenware (Groomes and Seyfang, 2012).…”

“…out of the waste system) appeal spanning ideological and value-driv (Martin and Upham, 2015: 7). However, beyond these rules and objectives activists have considerable autonomy to enact a diverse range of values (Martin and Upham, 2015) by setting local objectives, developing collaborations and engaging in advocacy and local political processes.…”