Towards methodological diversity in sustainability transitions research? Comparing recent developments (2016-2019) with the past (before 2016)

Hansmeier, Hendrik; Schiller, Katharina; Rogge, Karoline S.

doi:10.1016/j.eist.2021.01.001

Cited by 37 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This article has provided empirical insights from a case study beyond the much-studied domain of energy transitions (Hansmeier et al, 2021;Kern et al, 2019). As transitions are sought in more complex and contested contexts such as those which synthetic biology promises to contribute towards, avoiding taking the sustainability of emerging technologies at face value will become increasingly important (Susur & Karakaya, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The role of sustainability in the UK synthetic biology programme

Matthews¹

2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Policy interventions in support of emerging technologies are often justified through their potential to support sustainability transitions. Synthetic biology is one such technology with potential applications across a wide range of sectors with promised sustainability benefits. Over the past decade, the field in the UK has been subject to active policy intervention and support. This article explores the role played by the sustainability agenda in policy debates and the policy mix in support of this emerging field in the UK. Through an exploratory case study approach, I describe the processes through which synthetic biology came to be the subject of policy intervention where wider sustainability goals were situated as subsidiary to the commercialisation agenda. Analysis of the policy mix reveals how this has fed through into a supply-side bias with limited consideration given to actively create or stimulate demand for sustainable synthetic biology applications. These features, combined with limited capacity for anticipation and monitoring, are likely to limit the capacity of the field to drive socio-technical transformation due to a lack of attention to policy coordination, reflexivity, and directionality.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers have responded to this from a range of theoretical, conceptual, and methodological perspectives (Hansmeier et al, 2021). One pertinent avenue has been to draw on the literature that explores the processes through which innovation occurs and how technologies emerge and become embedded in society.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of sustainability in the UK synthetic biology programme

Matthews¹

2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Social Network Analysis (SNA), however, is increasingly applied to trace, for instance, a TIS network (Binz et al, 2014;Wen et al, 2015;Giurca and Metz, 2018;Scherrer et al, 2020) or compare transition networks at one point in time (Decourt, 2019;Nochta and Skelcher, 2020). While combined (mixed methods) approaches are considered promising, they remain uncommon (Franke and Wald, 2006;Menzel and Fornahl, 2010;Hansmeier et al, 2021).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolving role of networking organizations in advanced sustainability transitions

Rohe

Chlebna

2022

Technological Forecasting and Social Change

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…However, acceleration-dependent on mechanisms-has been the least attended phase of the transitions [1,2]. It is necessary to study the trajectories of transitions that, after an initial diffusion, stagnate and relapse in terms of the intended change [8]; in other words, to evaluate how to accelerate transitions towards more sustainable production and consumption systems [9]. In its application to sustainable transitions, the focus is on those lock-in causal mechanisms that connect causes with outcomes under certain contextual conditions, favoring incremental over radical innovations and path-dependence [10][11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Identification of Causal Mechanisms in Sustainable Urban Transitions—A Systematic Approach to Case Selection

Molina

Pérez-Macías

2022

Mathematics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cities around the world are betting on sustainable transitions as a formula to respond to some of the challenges they face. Within transitions, the acceleration phase has been little studied, perhaps because it relies on the mechanisms linked to the causes that lead to the desired effects. In the study of sustainable transitions, Qualitative Comparative Analysis is used to identify the causal conditions that generate the outcomes. Identifying causal mechanisms requires complementing this analysis with process tracing, the Set Theoretic Multi-Method Research (SMMR). Although previous work has complemented QCA analysis with process tracing, it did not apply a systematic approach to case selection. So, the research question addressed is: can we systematically select cases to apply process tracing in the explanation of sustainable urban transitions? The present work, by applying a systematic approach in the selection of the cases to which to apply process tracing, verifies the existence of a causal mechanism among the causal conditions that explains the denial of cities’ readiness to implement mobility innovations that can be extrapolated. No such mechanism exists for the analysis of readiness. Thus, the fundamental role played by lock-in mechanisms in the maintenance of the existing regimes in sustainable transitions is confirmed.

show abstract

Towards methodological diversity in sustainability transitions research? Comparing recent developments (2016-2019) with the past (before 2016)

Cited by 37 publications

References 28 publications

The role of sustainability in the UK synthetic biology programme

The role of sustainability in the UK synthetic biology programme

The evolving role of networking organizations in advanced sustainability transitions

The Identification of Causal Mechanisms in Sustainable Urban Transitions—A Systematic Approach to Case Selection

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About