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The Dynamics of Transitions: A Socio-Technical Perspective
... A transition process is understood as a multi-actor process in which "social groups such as businesses or firms, different types of user groups, scientific communities, policy makers, social movements, and special interest groups" (Geels, Schot, 2010) interact with each other. Transitions are considered a "complex social phenomenon" (de Haan, Rotmans, 2011) and "outcomes of alignments between developments at multiple levels" (Geels, Schot, 2007). ...
... Transitions are considered a "complex social phenomenon" (de Haan, Rotmans, 2011) and "outcomes of alignments between developments at multiple levels" (Geels, Schot, 2007). Furthermore, transition processes involve a high level of coevolution, complexity, and uncertainty (Geels, Schot, 2010). ...
... In the Second Stage, a comprehensive literature review on transition processes within agriculture and food systems, and the roles of actors within these processes, was conducted. The theoretical framework draws from Frank Geels' work on transitions, particularly the multi-level perspective (Geels, 2002;Geels, Schot, 2010). On the basis of this, the multi-actor perspective serves as the core of this work. ...
The urgent need for a fundamental change within agri-food systems, driven by the critical challenge of surpassing planetary boundaries, necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the actors and their roles in transition processes. This study addresses a significant knowledge gap by exploring the dynamics of actor interactions and the multifaceted roles they play in facilitating or hindering the transition towards more sustainable agri-food systems. Focusing on the Bio-Musterregion Heidenheim plus in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, as a case study, data were collected using the Social Ecological Inventory method. As a theoretical framework, the study was based on the multi-actor perspective. Altogether 157 actors and numerous roles were identified. Key findings refute the assumption that an actor inherently has a fixed role. We also show that roles are dynamic and can change over time. Furthermore, actors can take on multiple roles simultaneously. We conclude that a nuanced understanding of actor dynamics and their evolving roles is crucial for managing sustainability transitions. Efforts need to be directed towards supporting networking and knowledge sharing between niche actors. Equally important is the transfer of initiatives and knowledge from the niche level to the regime level, which may be achieved by empowering change agents in the political sphere.
... In other words, interpreting that it is co-constituted by technologies and social practices. Following the multi-level categories commonly used in socio-technical transitions research (Geels, 2004a;Geels & Schot, 2010;Kemp et al., 1998;Rip & Kemp, 1998), RwH is placed as a niche in relation to the current water supply socio-technical regimes in Mexico City. In this sense, documenting and explaining the emergence and upgrading of innovative versions of such a traditional but largely forgotten practice provides an opportunity to understand how the city is currently pointing towards adaptive urban futures open to a variety of different technologically-enabled possibilities. ...
... These rules are precisely what account for the stability and 'lock-in' of certain sociotechnical systems, whose regimes become unstable only when actors begin to diverge or disruptions hit at the landscape level (F. W. Geels & Schot, 2010). The enduring use of fossil fuels for energy production is an example of lock-in since the infrastructure and technologies in place for extracting, transporting, and using this non-renewable resource have hindered the adoption of alternative, more sustainable energy sources (Foxon, 2014). ...
... In this sense, RwH is considered an emerging 'niche' among the water-supply 'service regimes' delivering networked and trucked water in Mexico City. Niches are categorised as small networks of dedicated actors, including their practices and narratives, willing to invest resources in new promising technologies (RwH facilities, in this case)(Geels & Schot, 2010). As suggested bySmith & Raven (2012), since it is difficult for novelties to thrive in mainstream markets, niches work as protected spaces supporting innovations against incumbent actors and selection pressures.4. ...
Modern infrastructure networks make cities work by providing essential services such as water, sanitation and energy. However, across the urban Global South, universal and reliable services remain unachieved. What prevails instead is an ‘incomplete modernity’ expressed in unequal, segregated and often decaying networks. In this context, the present thesis addresses the emergence of rainwater harvesting (RwH) as an alternative infrastructure for household water supply in Mexico City, where the shortcomings of the local network have been catalogued as signs of a longstanding ‘water crisis’. In order to understand how new social and technological configurations are incorporated into contexts of incomplete modernity, data was collected through primary and secondary research (interviews, observations and documentary research) and analysed from a qualitative methodological approach. The results indicate that RwH has become a palliative niche for a dysfunctional socio-technical regime that systematically relegates marginalised populations from accessing adequate water services. The development of innovative RwH systems specifically designed for the needs of these populations has matched with concurrent narratives related to sustainability and social justice, contributing to the momentum of a niche space that is now being supported by the state through new policies and regulations. While these developments will not break the structural power arrangements behind the differential access to water in Mexico City, RwH has proven useful as a decentralised infrastructure that enables underserviced populations to improve their autonomy by reducing the time, effort and stress that implies getting water in conditions of disadvantage. The findings of this case study provide a fine-grained account of a contingent socio-technical change process happening in a Latin American megacity, adding to the emerging literature on urban transitions and transitions in the Global South.
... In research on sociotechnical sustainability transitions, a regime is conceptualized as a dynamically stable mode of organization of a specific system (Kanger 2021). A regime, which can be seen as the institutionalized structure of a system, consists of rules, shared conceptions, value systems, infrastructures, and metabolic flows, as well as power relations and path dependencies that give stability to the system (Geels and Schot 2010;Fuenfschilling and Truffer 2014). However, the regime's stability becomes a problem when sustainability problems are embedded within the regime, as is almost always the case. ...
... Sustainability transitions then require the transformation of the regime. Such transformations usually take place as a response to broader landscape pressure, such as climate change or changing consumer preferences, coupled with the emergence of alternative technologies and innovations that challenge the old (unsustainable) solutions of the regime (Geels and Schot 2010;de Haan and Rotmans 2011). ...
One of the central goals of circular bioeconomy in the Finnish forest-based sector is upgrading the use of wood-based materials, especially wood-based side streams, to higher value-added products. However, despite these ambitions, most wood-based side streams are used in energy production. Within the forest-based sector, innovative solutions for higher value-added production of wood-based side streams are being developed within small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). Therefore, to promote the process of upscaling these solutions, understanding the success of these companies is pivotal. For this end, we conducted a qualitative study with 10 forest-based SMEs utilizing wood-based side streams to understand both the internal and external factors affecting their ability to scale up their business models. By applying the dynamic capabilities approach from management research and the strategic niche management approach from sociotechnical transition studies, we found that even though the companies are internally well positioned to succeed in their growth aspirations, they face barriers from the dominant forest-based regime. The studied SMEs are facing a mismatch between their own business models and the rules and operating principles of the forest-based sector based on linear economy. Overcoming these barriers and challenging the dominant structures within the Finnish forest-based regime would require joint efforts from the companies. However, the companies have a strong technological orientation, which makes them hesitant with regard to horizontal networking. They also operate in diverse markets, making it difficult for them to find common ground. As a result, the pressure for systemic transformation within the forest-based sector remains nominal.
... Geels and Raven (2006) describe local and global niche interactions, where local projects are shaped by broader sociopolitical contexts. The distinction between community and organisational resilience lies in the varying degrees of structuration Truffer, 2016, 2014;Geels, 2011;Geels and Schot, 2010). Unlike more formal organisational resilience, community initiatives are less institutionalised but possess structuring properties, helping communities rapidly adapt and collectively problem-solve in response to disruptions (Chan and Zhou, 2021;Nixon and Schwanen, 2024). ...
... Finally, scaling or up-scaling has been described 'as the impact of niche innovations in transforming socio-technical regimes' (Ehnert, 2023, p. 90). According to the multi-level perspective on transitions (Geels & Schot, 2010), regimes are stable socio-technical constellations incorporating institutional rules, technologies, economic-industrial production patterns, infrastructures and hegemonic ways of behaving and thinking. At the same time, regimes are related to cultural orientations and shared values that have developed over long periods and which are referred to as 'landscapes' . ...
While the relations between landscapes and sustainability have been investigated from various perspectives, the link between landscapes and sustainability transitions is still under-researched. Biosphere reserves are a promising object of study in this regard as they can be viewed as model regions and laboratories for sustainable development. Here we develop the concept of landscape laboratories as a landscape-centred form of real-world laboratory. Based on a qualitative analysis of strategy documents and interviews with management staff, we elucidate how the notions of experimenting, learning and scaling are understood by those involved in Germany's biosphere reserves. In particular, we discuss what kind of landscape laboratories these biosphere reserves represent and which challenges and dilemmas they face. In our conclusion, we propose ways of strengthening the effectiveness of biosphere reserves as landscape laboratories as well as lines of further in-depth research, for example regarding the mediation of planetary and local discourses.
Perennial fuel scarcity has remained a norm in the Nigeria polity even when the country is a net exporter of petroleum. This scenario has left doubts on the mind of the citizenry concerning the contributory impact of fuel subsidy reforms of government to fuel scarcity in Nigeria. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between fuel subsidy reforms and port performance indicators namely cargo throughput of refine petroleum oil terminal (RPOT), ship calls and BRV Calls involved in maritime terminal operations in Nigeria hence justifying or declining on the assertion that fuel subsidy reforms is associated with the performance of the marine terminals in Nigeria. The data used for the study covered a period from 2012 to 2020. The variables were analyzed using both correlation and stochastic frontier regression tests. The results of the tests revealed that there is significant relationship between fuel subsidy reforms and cargo throughput of refine petroleum oil terminal (RPOT), ship calls and BRV Calls involved in maritime terminal operations in Nigeria. Therefore, it is recommended that decisions on fuel subsidy reforms by government should be holistic in approach whereby all stake holders are part of the policy initiation and execution to promote national cohesion and economic efficiency in developmental resource allocation.
This paper aims to conceptualize the construction of events in light of transition pathways. The field of transition studies has generated an expanding body of knowledge on transition pathways. Transition pathways are shaped around a sequence of patterns of underlying processes. Sequences of events are the core elements of a pattern and explain a particular societal change. However, understanding what exactly an event is, its meaning, and its role in how transition pathways unfold still remains ambiguous in the transition literature. In transitions, understanding the process of structuration (including sensemaking) is foundational. We draw on the theory of historical processes that helps grasp the meaning of an event and the theory of mechanism-based explanations that shows the layered structure of explanations from micro to macro level. Based on these insights, the two concepts of “sensemaking” and “interrelating” are linked to the construction of the “event.” They explain the processes of structuration of social interactions from the individual to the collective level. We conceptualize an event as constituted from temporally sequenced, converging processes of interactions from the individual to the collective level in a particular time and space.
The degrowth project proposes a fundamental reorganisation of contemporary society. The existing literature focuses on explaining why degrowth is needed to tackle the multiple socioecological crises of our time and what needs to change in contemporary society. Recently, there have been explicit calls to moving on to thinking about the question of how a degrowth transition could be achieved. In this task, we identify the ‘end’ of the vision, that is, the cornerstones of a degrowth society, and focus on the suggested changes leading there. Therefore, we conceptualise a degrowth society as a regime that can be studied with the help of institutional theory and the change leading to a degrowth regime as a degrowth transition. To understand the constituents of such a regime, we conducted a systematic mapping of the degrowth literature by focusing on specific change proposals from 2000 to 2020. We analysed these change proposals in the framework of institutional theory and identified three overarching themes forming the backbone of a degrowth society: reduction, reorganisation and localisation. These themes represent the cultural–cognitive dimension of institutionalisation processes and entail varying degrees of normative and regulative dimensions. According to the degrowth change proposals in the literature, reduction is to be achieved mainly through top-down regulation, while reorganisation and localisation require a bottom-up approach to mobilising collective agency and changes in the normative orientation of society. Our analysis regarding the founding pillars of the institutional order of a degrowth society unveils essential signposts that could be considered when formulating policies and narratives compatible with a degrowth transition.
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