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The Transformative Capacity of Public Sector Organizations in Sustainability Transitions: A Conceptualization

Author

Listed:
  • Borrás, Susana

    (Copenhagen Business School)

  • Haakonsson, Stine

    (Copenhagen Business School)

  • Taudal Poulsen, René

    (Copenhagen Business School)

  • Pallesen, Trine

    (Copenhagen Business School)

  • Hendriksen, Christian

    (Copenhagen Business School)

  • Somavilla, Lucas

    (University College London)

  • Kugelberg, Susanna

    (Copenhagen Business School)

  • Larsen, Henrik

    (Copenhagen Business School)

  • Gerli, Francesco

    (Copenhagen Business School)

Abstract

Although public sector organizations (such as municipalities, executive agencies, and publicly controlled utilities), are pivotal in sustainability transitions, a conceptualization of their transformative capacity is underdeveloped. Several strands of literature have started to pay attention to the concept of ‘capacity’, but these remain disjointed. Conducting a literature review, the present paper identifies variations and understudied aspects of the concept. It proposes a holistic conceptual framework based on three elements: their organizational roles, resources, and skills. Hence, the transformative capacity of a public sector organization is defined by the interaction between its purposeful enactment of various roles when exercising change agency, and by the deployment and development of its dynamic skills, when mobilizing the internal and external resources at its disposal. The framework offers the opportunity for a granular understanding of what specific combinations of those elements are at play in the implementation of highly diverse sustainability actions. This has important theoretical and empirical implications, as well as practical implications for more targeted transformative capacity-building efforts.

Suggested Citation

  • Borrás, Susana & Haakonsson, Stine & Taudal Poulsen, René & Pallesen, Trine & Hendriksen, Christian & Somavilla, Lucas & Kugelberg, Susanna & Larsen, Henrik & Gerli, Francesco, 2023. "The Transformative Capacity of Public Sector Organizations in Sustainability Transitions: A Conceptualization," Papers in Innovation Studies 2023/2, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
  • Handle: RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2023_002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    sustainability transitions; eco-innovation; transformative innovation; socio-technical systems; climate; capacity; dynamic capabilities; climate; governance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • Z18 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Public Policy

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