Bike sharing has the potential to contribute to more sustainable urban mobility. Companies providing this service need to generate legitimacy for their venture when entering new cities. They may have to change formal and informal institutions in cities they want to operate. In this paper we explore how and why companies’ institutional strategies differ across cities. We compare strategies of emerging

Sustainability transitions are commonly considered impossible without regime change. Theoretical work on regime change has mainly focused on niches and landscapes and less on change ‘from within’. Empirical analysis helps theorising endogenous regime change. Conceptualising regimes as semi-coherent entities composed of multiple ‘institutional logics’, we analyse the endogenous regime change in Dutch

Innovations accompanying transitions often prompt institutional change if they do not match with existing institutions. Transition studies started to incorporate institutional dynamics into their research, but efforts hitherto remain underdeveloped. In this paper, we systematically review the institutional entrepreneurship literature. Based on a reading of 153 empirical cases, we identify trends and

Pathways of transition differ across countries, industrial sectors, firms and technologies, but little is known about the reasons for these differences and macroeconomic consequences. I show theoretically how differences in transition patterns and macroeconomic side effects can be explained by the characteristics of competing technologies. Competing technologies are characterized by their relative

This study explores the local municipality as an important arena for developing and implementing initiatives for a transition to long-term sustainable development. It focuses on institutional conditions that support the integration of ‘radical’, transition-oriented perspectives and ideas (i.e. perspectives stressing the need for changed social power relations and ‘other’ norms and visions for the future

In 2014 Argentina has adopted a new policy strategy aiming at the diffusion of renewable energies. In this paper, we analyze the associated policy making process and the impacts of the emerging policy mix on socio-technical change in the Argentinean electricity sector, with a particular focus on the development of a national renewables industry. Our analysis is based on a novel analytical framework

Climate change is increasingly governed through local configurations that are characterised by voluntary action, weak institutions and uncoordinated efforts. The impermanent and iterative nature of such initiatives makes it difficult to determine their enduring and potentially transformative impact. This review systematises how the sustainability transitions field has approached temporary initiatives

The energy transition is increasingly high stakes, defined by the participation of new actors, and – above all – political. Renewable energy communities (RECs) are electricity system actors defined by local control and motivations beyond profit maximization. There has been much speculation about the potential impact of RECs on political systems, but little empirical investigation. This study examines

Our modern society is characterized by increasing diversity and complexity, leading to overwhelming challenges like climate change or environmental degradation. These problems are posing impracticable ethical dilemmas and conflicts of interest among an expanding range of institutional logics. While this cognitive, ideological, scientific, and political diversity can represent a major barrier for the

Renewable energy and social justice advocates are organizing around the potential for community-based democratic organizations to promote more decentralized, sustainable, and just societies. Within this movement, consumer-owned electric utilities are often seen as central actors. Yet, there has been little systematic investigation into why integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) varies across

Mega-droughts can cause disruption to the affected society sparking a transition. We explore the causes and effects of the 2015−2016 mega-drought in Colombia. Using the multi-level perspective as a framework, we found that the mega-drought sparked an energy transition in Colombia whose dynamics were impacted both by the institutionalization of niches as well as the ability to predict the next drought

Identifying the risks that could impact a low-carbon transition is a prerequisite to assessing and managing these risks. We systematically characterise risks associated with decarbonisation pathways in fifteen case studies conducted in twelve countries around the world. We find that stakeholders from business, government, NGOs, and others supplied some 40 % of these risk inputs, significantly widening

In the last decade, a new strand of energy and climate research emerged that links quantitative models and socio-technical transitions theories or frameworks. Linking the two enables capturing the co-evolution of society, technology, the economy and the environment. We systematically review this literature (N = 44) and describe the papers’ trends, scope, temporal and spatial foci, and methodological

Intermediaries can potentially help reduce institutional lock-ins that slow down sustainability transitions by influencing policy processes, because of their connectedness and often high level of legitimacy. In this paper, we analysed intermediaries seeking to accelerate the diffusion of wooden multi-storey construction (WMC) in Finland, their roles and engagement in policy processes. Increasing the

Sociotechnical transitions are complex processes that imply far-reaching technological, institutional and cultural changes. Transition intermediaries have emerged as potentially powerful actors and entities to speed up transitions. As much previous literature on intermediaries in transitions has focused on emergence, in this special issue, we focus on intermediaries in the acceleration phase of transitions

This paper investigates the drivers, benefits and barriers of battery electric vehicle (BEV) development and an ongoing BEV transition in Iceland from a sociotechnical perspective. We focus on the following research questions: 1) What are the most promising driving forces behind BEV growth? 2) Why are BEVs restricted mostly to the niche level? 3) What are the possible opportunities for BEV future development

Socio-technical transitions are often hindered by the resilience of existing infrastructures, as policymakers are reluctant to invest in novel products or services. Using the example of carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) based fuels, we set up a discrete choice experiment to assess whether European policymakers have a tendency to avoid investing in novel, and more disruptive technologies, and rather

As urban areas increase in size, density and population, green spaces become increasingly important for sustainability and liveability. Yet urbanisation processes, compounded in many cases by climate change impacts, are placing increasing pressure on retention of urban vegetation. This paper aims to analyse the role of local government policies in provision of urban green spaces. The research focuses

The ‘niche’ is a central concept in sustainability transitions. However, its mobilisation in analytical practice raises two concerns. The first stems from socio-technical determinism vis-à-vis technological flexibility and the risk that technologies become a priori linked to societal functions. The second actualises when emerging niches become framed, from the outset, in terms of their positive potential

Participatory modeling – the involvement of stakeholders in the modeling process – can support various objectives, such as stimulating learning processes or promoting mutual understanding of stakeholders. Participatory modeling approaches could therefore be useful for the governance of transitions, but a systematic account of potential application areas of participatory modeling methods in transition

Conceptualizations and articulations of ‘the future’ play a persistent and important role in discussions about technology adoption and the broader domain of sustainability transitions. The Sociology of Expectations, part of the transitions and science and technology studies literature, specifically focusses on the performative role that desirable expectations play in the development and marketing of

Scholars of sustainability transition have given much attention to local experiments in ‘protected spaces’ where system innovations can be initiated and where learning about those innovations can occur. However, local project participants’ conceptions of success are often different to those of transition scholars; where scholars see a successful learning experience, participants may see a project which

This article examines energy related experiments suggested and outlined in a co-creative Energy Transition Arena in Finland in 2017 with participating experts from various spheres of society. A transition arena is a process for engaging stakeholders in systemic transitions, and experiments are an important measure for enhancing transition and mechanisms of change. We apply network analysis and use

Literature on sustainability transitions advocates the institutionalisation of niche innovations and assigns an important role for institutional work in this respect. Previous work has conceptually and empirically substantiated a range of strategies that institutional entrepreneurs perform. However, little is known about how institutional entrepreneurs engage differently in institutional strategies

Understanding how policy and policy-making processes can influence the speed and direction of socio-technical change is an important, yet underexplored research agenda in the field of sustainability transitions. This paper is the first application of a novel analytical framework which conceptualises the co-evolutionary dynamics of policy mixes and socio-technical systems, by complementing the sustainability

Systemic intermediaries play an important role in shaping socio-technical transitions. However, there is hardly any knowledge about contextual factors that enhance or inhibit systemic intermediary activities in transnational settings. This study draws on a case study of a European intermediary in the energy transition field. The intermediary has been active in both transition-progressive and less transition-oriented

How do systemic intermediaries obtain legitimate roles for themselves in innovation systems and transition processes? This is still an understudied question in the study of systemic intermediaries. We start from the observation that roles, or positions, are not given, but emerge in interactions as a negotiated set of rights and obligations. Inspired by positioning theory, which has its roots in symbolic

Much has been written on sustainability transitions, yet all around us unsustainable developments remain rife, and threaten to offset the progress made in other areas. This viewpoint argues that transitions scholarship should widen its scope to consider unsustainable trends, which it has tended to neglect to date. We argue that there is merit in applying the transitions lens to these developments,

Onshore wind energy can be conceptualized as a “Global Innovation System” in which resources drive technological development and diffusion: Knowledge, markets, investment and legitimacy. This paper investigates the regional embeddedness of resource formation along the industry’s value chain, and explores how these processes are coupled to each other and to the national and global scale. Empirically

We combine energy systems optimization models (ESOM), multi-criteria assessment (MCA) and a stakeholder workshop to evaluate decarbonization risks, trade-offs and opportunities for Ireland. Using an ESOM of Ireland, we develop decarbonisation scenario ensembles with variations across multiple dimensions, including carbon budget and technology availability as informed by a stakeholder workshop. For

A transition towards a low-carbon energy system requires the large-scale diffusion of renewable electricity (RE) technologies. Intermediary actors, such as installers, project developers or consultants, can facilitate this process by supporting RE adopters. Recent studies have also pointed out that there are potential drawbacks associated with intermediary support. Acting as filters and gatekeepers

This paper develops a conceptual understanding of transformative innovations as shared activities, ideas and objects across locally rooted sustainability initiatives that explore and develop alternatives to incumbent and (perceived) unsustainable regimes that they seek to challenge, alter or replace. We synthesize empirical work from two European research projects (TRANSIT and ARTS), in which initiatives

To date, a major portion of sustainability transition research has relied on retrospective methods to generate encompassing macro-level views of transitions. However, such methods may have considerable impacts on the insights generated in the study of intermediation, action and agency by actors on the micro-level of transitions. In this article, we compare retrospective interviews and real-time ethnography

This article contributes to the literature on sustainability transitions, innovation systems, and eco-innovation by addressing conceptual challenges regarding the systemic activities of intermediaries. Specifically, the article addresses a research gap pertaining to the ways in which the systemic activities of (eco-)innovation intermediaries can be conceptualised and empirically demonstrated. Empirically

This article points at insights from the subfields of international business and strategic management that are relevant for sustainability transitions research. Specifically, building on the emergent ‘mainstream’ literature on ‘generic’ digital platforms, we explain how a range of digital platform multinationals has emerged which address sustainability challenges, and highlight their potential for

The roles of intermediaries in sustainability transitions are increasingly recognised. How intermediaries advance transitions vis-a-vis public policy has, however, received little attention. Thus, we create an analytical framework of intermediating policy processes, drawing from transition and policy cycle literatures. We apply this to investigate two policy processes pertaining to Finland’s building

The new Sustainability Transitions Research Network agenda (Köhler et al., 2019) is an ambitious attempt to establish the frontiers of transitions studies. In this comment I propose two ways to broaden it in terms of thematic focus and the role of theory.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics and activities of intermediaries that are involved in innovation diffusion and, thus, contribute to the acceleration of sustainability transitions. The paper develops a taxonomy of four types of diffusion intermediaries based on official firm registry data on intermediaries involved in renewable electricity technologies in Sweden, which differ

This paper provides the results of a combined qualitative and quantitative assessment of key impacts for two low-emission transition pathways for the Dutch livestock sector. These impacts or side-effects can be positive or negative. Both pathways were designed to meet a sector specific methane emission reduction target of 33 % in 2030 (relative to 2005). The qualitative assessment with stakeholders

Building on the chapter “Businesses and industries in sustainability transitions” in the STRN agenda, this viewpoint calls for more attention to how economic and environmental goals can be aligned to enhance the political legitimacy of transitions. This requires, we suggest, a more integrated understanding of the relationship between industrial transformation and sustainability transitions. We provide

Expanding photovoltaics (PV) is important for reaching Dutch renewable energy and climate targets. In this paper, we assess risks of scaling up PV in the Dutch electricity sector and economy. With a computable general equilibrium model setup to analyse scenarios until 2050, we show that increasing PV shares initially lead to higher costs of electricity supply and thus retail prices. Until 2025, large

The agricultural sector of the Western Cape is highly affected by climate change and thus requires fundamental change to move to a more resilient path. We analyze the development of a climate change plan to obtain a better understanding of what is needed to make such a strategic intervention meaningful in terms facilitating a sustainability transition. We use the concept of transition arena to understand

Transition studies has recently underscored the need to focus on upscaling and diffusion of innovations. A key question is how these innovations, already existing in niche markets, can become diffused and embedded in broader markets. As a first step, we offer ideas about the design and formation of what one might call ‘markets for transitions’. We argue that less attention has been paid to legitimized

This article analyzes the third (1994) and fourth (2015) epochs of Saskatchewan’s energy system and the actors and their networks associated with the transition into a renewable future. A case study method was employed using analyses of the structural, institutional and historical context of power production and energy systems transitions in Saskatchewan. The historic rise of coal is discussed but

Being dependent on fossil fuels, Indonesia faces challenges in incorporating renewables into its energy supply, which hampers to achieve the NDC target of 26% emission reduction. We investigate how biogas could contribute to a low-carbon transition pathway as cooking fuel, especially through the national mid-term development planning. Using mixed-methods and stakeholder engagement, we conducted transdisciplinary

In this Viewpoint, we argue that transitions research needs to engage more firmly with the role of incumbents and various forms of incumbencies. We identify shortcomings of existing research, notably a tendency to portray incumbents as ‘villains’ wedded to resisting, slowing down or preventing transition efforts. With that in mind, the Viewpoint briefly summarises shortcomings within existing research

Using data on patent applications, this paper provides systematic evidence of how the existing regional knowledge base, and in particular specialisation in fossil fuel technologies, affected both initial and subsequent regional diversification into cleantech knowledge production in European regions between 1987 and 2010. Results confirmed the assumption in evolutionary economic geography that technological

The article discusses the prospects of local wood waste resources as replacements for fossil fuel imports in the remote settlements of the Russian North from a viewpoint of a case study: the Arkhangelsk region and its outdated heating and fossil fuel delivery systems. Drawing on energy transition literature and expert interviews, the most influential factors are defined in geographic-infrastructural

By merging findings from transition studies with recent literature on market-shaping, this paper outlines a conceptual framework that describes the shaping of sustainable markets. The framework comprises three critical processes: enabling exchange practices, proving the system and constructing the narrative. Individually, these processes generate different kinds of value – traded, demonstrated and

As cities in East Africa keep growing, so too will demand for charcoal – the region’s preferred urban fuel – placing increasing pressure on rural landscapes where it is produced. How can charcoal production and supply be made sustainable? What are the implications of sustainable charcoal policies and practices for achieving a low-carbon pathway and protecting the environment? This paper presents case

The 2019 STRN research agenda identifies connecting the different 'levels' of transitions processes as a worthwhile line of work. Individual actor-level processes are an example of those at the 'micro' level that are lost through the aggregation involved in high level sociotechnical transitions concepts. This short commentary discusses ways of connecting individual actor level processes to transitions

The Paris Climate Agreement, Sustainable Development Goals and Addis Ababa Action Agenda call for the financial system to be “consistent and integrated” in its response to the sustainability and climate breakdown. Sustainability transitions research (STR) and orthodox finance literature are failing to engage with these calls. This paper offers three contributions to address this issue. Firstly, it

As sustainability challenges and the transformative changes they necessitate stretch well beyond the boundaries of individual socio-technical systems, there is a pressing need to generate more sustained interest in the dynamics occurring across rather than within systems. In response, this viewpoint takes stock of existing work on multi-system dynamics and sketches the contours of a multi-system perspective

Transitions literature regards technologies as critical components in shifting systems towards sustainability, which has informed the development of the technology-oriented Technological Innovation System (TIS) framework. The emerging discourse on nature-based solutions (NBS) – multifunctional nature-integrated spatial planning and design innovations – raises the question to what extent TIS can account

Even though the food system is responsible for a significant part of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a transition to a sustainable food system is needed, the growing body of literature on sustainability transitions has paid little attention to the food processing sector. We expect transition dynamics in the food processing sector to differ from the typical dynamics portrayed in transitions

Cycling-based mobility services or 'Cycling as a Service' (CaaS) have recently expanded in number and scale in the Netherlands. In contrast to the contexts of most other CaaS studies to date, cycling has a high modal share and strong institutions in the Dutch context. However, these supportive features have not translated into straightforward success for CaaS providers. Instead, responses to CaaS providers

Although learning in networks is key to transitions, the literature has juxtaposed the different actors involved. Based on a conceptual review, we posit that four distinct collective actors engage in learning in transitions: technology constituencies, epistemic communities, instrument constituencies, and advocacy coalitions. Technology constituencies promote the adoption of specific socio-technical

This article analyses the Norwegian electric vehicle transition from a socio-technical perspective, shedding light on the emergence of one of the most important EV markets globally. The Norwegian strategy to promote this transition is often understood as a set of targeted policies to create EV demand. Here, we illustrate how visions and incentives for a Norwegian EV transition have emerged over a period

Transformation of coal-dependent regions in the European Union has received much lower research interest than industry decarbonisation. Moreover, even if territorial strategies are proposed, positive aspects are highlighted, while the risks are neglected or not addressed explicitly. In this context, we explore transition stakeholders’ beliefs and perception about political, economic, social, environmental

The Port of Rotterdam is an important industrial cluster, comprising mainly oil refining, chemical production and power generation. In 2016, the port’s industry accounted for 19% of the Netherlands’ total CO2 emissions. The Port of Rotterdam Authority is aware that the cluster is heavily exposed to future decarbonisation policies, as most of its activities focus on trading, handling, converting and