A transitions theory perspective on transport innovation

Bonno Pel

Chapter 2 in Innovations in Transport, 2022, pp 14-34 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Taking a systemic perspective on transport innovation, this chapter discusses the specific understanding of 'system innovation' as brought forward in sustainability transitions theory. This perspective challenges conventional insights regarding the rationale, governance philosophy, relevant dimensions and scope of transport innovation. It proposes to move 1) from ecological modernization to 'system innovation'; 2) from optimization to experimentalism; 3) from sustainable technologies to socio-cultural transformation; and 4) from innovation to exnovation. The systemic, holistic outlook and the long-term orientation of the transitions perspective do come with certain limitations, though. The 'bigger picture' lacks accurate analysis of societal impacts, both in positivist-quantitative as well as in constructivist-qualitative terms. This limits the scope for tailored transport solutions. The strength of transitions theory lies elsewhere: Taking innovations seriously as dynamic processes, it provides a nuanced and strategically sophisticated understanding of innovation success and failure.

Keywords: Economics and Finance; Environment; Geography; Innovations and Technology; Urban and Regional Studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/9781800373372/9781800373372.00008.xml (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:20081_2

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Darrel McCalla ().