Processes and patterns in transitions and system innovations: Refining the co-evolutionary multi-level perspective

This article investigates transitions at the level of societal functions (e.g., transport, communication, housing). Societal functions are fulfilled by sociotechnical systems, which consist of a cluster of aligned elements, e.g., artifacts, knowledge, markets, regulation, cultural meaning, infrastru...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Technological forecasting & social change 2005-07, Vol.72 (6), p.681-696
Main Author: Geels, F.W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adoption of Innovations
Co-evolution
Infrastructure
Multi-level perspective
Patterns
Science Society Relationship
Social Change
Social Systems
System innovation
Technological Innovations
Transition
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Summary:This article investigates transitions at the level of societal functions (e.g., transport, communication, housing). Societal functions are fulfilled by sociotechnical systems, which consist of a cluster of aligned elements, e.g., artifacts, knowledge, markets, regulation, cultural meaning, infrastructure, maintenance networks and supply networks. Transitions are conceptualised as system innovations, i.e., a change from one sociotechnical system to another. The article describes a co-evolutionary multi-level perspective to understand how system innovations come about through the interplay between technology and society. The article makes a new step as it further refines the multi-level perspective by distinguishing characteristic patterns: (a) two transition routes, (b) fit–stretch pattern, and (c) patterns in breakthrough.
ISSN:0040-1625
1873-5509
DOI:10.1016/j.techfore.2004.08.014