Market formation in sustainability transitions is characterised by deep and longstanding uncertainty. Albeit prior research provides a rich repertoire of theoretical frameworks on how incumbent firms and entrepreneurs deal with uncertainty, there is still scant literature on the role of the government in orchestrating uncertainty concerning market formation. By studying multiple cases involving an innovation agency and municipalities in Brazil, we propose a new framework composed of a distinguishing typology of uncertainties and patterns of actions regarding how the government can orchestrate the mitigation of these uncertainties in market formation in sustainability transitions. Government actors cope with configurational uncertainty through boundary experimentation, affiliation uncertainty by removing barriers, and interdependence uncertainty by setting long-term mechanisms (nurturing, facilitating and driving interdependence). Our framework suggests that government actors adopt strategies to increase their legitimacy in driving market formation under uncertainty and use epistemic regulation to mitigate hypes. Implications and opportunities for further research are also discussed.

可持续性转型中的市场形成具有深刻而长期的不确定性。尽管先前的研究为现有公司和企业家如何应对不确定性提供了丰富的理论框架，但关于政府在协调市场形成不确定性方面的作用的文献仍然很少。通过研究涉及巴西创新机构和市政当局的多个案例，我们提出了一个新框架，该框架由不同的不确定性类型学和关于政府如何在可持续性转型中协调缓解市场形成中的这些不确定性的行动模式组成。政府行为者通过边界实验来应对配置不确定性，通过消除障碍来应对从属关系的不确定性，通过设置长期机制（培育、促进和推动相互依赖）来实现相互依赖的不确定性。我们的框架表明，政府行为者采取策略提高其在不确定性下推动市场形成的合法性，并使用认知监管来减轻炒作。还讨论了进一步研究的影响和机会。