The sustainability transitions literature departs from the idea that grand challenges such as climate change and rising inequality call for far-reaching changes in sociotechnical systems of production and consumption. This implies a dual interest in the directionality of innovation; some directions of change can be perceived as more desirable, while others may be more plausible due to the path dependent nature of sociotechnical change. The specific characteristics of the potential outcomes of directionality have, however, received little attention. Our aim is therefore to unpack and conceptualize the multidimensional space in which sociotechnical systems may adopt different shapes and configurations. We also provide three illustrative empirical examples where directionality has resulted in systems with different technical, social and spatial characteristics. The ideas put forward in this paper can be seen as a contribution to a morphology of sociotechnical systems and thereby support efforts to investigate or promote specific directions of change.

可持续性转型文献与气候变化和不平等加剧等重大挑战要求生产和消费的社会技术系统发生深远变化的观点不同。这意味着对创新方向的双重兴趣；某些变化方向可能被认为更可取，而由于社会技术变化的路径依赖性质，其他方向可能更合理。然而，方向性的潜在结果的具体特征很少受到关注。因此，我们的目标是解开和概念化社会技术系统可能采用不同形状和配置的多维空间。我们还提供了三个说明性的经验示例，其中方向性导致系统具有不同的技术、社会和空间特征。本文提出的想法可以被视为对社会技术系统形态的贡献，从而支持调查或促进特定变化方向的努力。