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Technology and Instrument Constituencies as Agents of Innovation: Sustainability Transitions and the Governance of Urban Transport

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  • Nihit Goyal

    (Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077, Singapore)

  • Michael Howlett

    (Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077, Singapore
    Department of Political Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada)

Abstract

Sustainable urban transport is a complex challenge requiring innovation in technologies, culture, and policies. Given the systemic nature of the issues involved, numerous studies have applied the transitions approach to urban transport. However, relatively weak conceptualization of agency in the transitions literature limits the usefulness of this approach for the governance of urban transport. The objective of this study is to contribute to the conceptualization of agency in the multilevel perspective to sustainability transitions. We propose that two types of actors exercise agency to foster innovation: technology constituencies, who promote the adoption of specific technologies by citizens, businesses, or governments; and instrument constituencies, who promote the adoption of specific policy instruments. In focusing predominantly on technological innovation, the transitions literature has generally juxtaposed these constituencies or considered them to be the same. We posit that the two constitute distinct, albeit possibly overlapping, actors and that their relationship(s) help better understand and explain how transitions evolve. We discuss the implications of this distinction for the governance of urban transport and argue that the presence of instrument and technology constituencies, and their relationship(s), should be examined empirically in future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Nihit Goyal & Michael Howlett, 2018. "Technology and Instrument Constituencies as Agents of Innovation: Sustainability Transitions and the Governance of Urban Transport," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-14, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:5:p:1198-:d:145303
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    2. Nihit Goyal & Michael Howlett & Araz Taeihagh, 2021. "Why and how does the regulation of emerging technologies occur? Explaining the adoption of the EU General Data Protection Regulation using the multiple streams framework," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(4), pages 1020-1034, October.
    3. Anastasios Tsakalidis & Konstantinos Gkoumas & Monica Grosso & Ferenc Pekár, 2020. "TRIMIS: Modular Development of an Integrated Policy-Support Tool for Forward-Oriented Transport Research and Innovation Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-21, December.
    4. Nihit Goyal & Michael Howlett & Namrata Chindarkar, 2020. "Who coupled which stream(s)? Policy entrepreneurship and innovation in the energy–water nexus in Gujarat, India," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(1), pages 49-64, February.
    5. Katariina Koistinen & Satu Teerikangas, 2021. "The Debate If Agents Matter vs. the System Matters in Sustainability Transitions—A Review of the Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-32, March.
    6. Fei Mo & Derek Wang, 2019. "Environmental Sustainability of Road Transport in OECD Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-14, September.

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