IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/indcch/v32y2023i3p605-621..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A “poor man’s carriage”: system building and social interactivity in UK urban tramway development, 1860–1890

Author

Listed:
  • Anne-Marie Coles
  • Ian Clarke
  • Athena Piterou

Abstract

Large technical systems (LTS) are socially structuring, reconfiguring governance practices and social norms. In this article, socio-technical dynamics that influenced the emergence of UK urban tramways, as examples of local LTS, are investigated, considering the role of dominant discourses in normalizing new systems. It examines how the 1870 Tramways Act attempted to adjudicate between competing interests, which shaped the context for new tramway routes. The concept of system builders is used to explain how new projects recruit public support. This case identifies constraints faced by system builders and indicates that their interaction with prevailing socio-political contexts impacts the system development and stability.

Suggested Citation

  • Anne-Marie Coles & Ian Clarke & Athena Piterou, 2023. "A “poor man’s carriage”: system building and social interactivity in UK urban tramway development, 1860–1890," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 32(3), pages 605-621.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:indcch:v:32:y:2023:i:3:p:605-621.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/icc/dtac063
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jenny Palm & Magdalena Fallde, 2016. "What Characterizes a System Builder? The Role of Local Energy Companies in Energy System Transformation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-16, March.
    2. Miller, Roger, et al, 1995. "Innovation in Complex Systems Industries: The Case of Flight Simulation," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 4(2), pages 363-400.
    3. Coles, Anne-Marie, 2016. "The potential for sustainable production and consumption in a technological Society," Greenwich Papers in Political Economy 15671, University of Greenwich, Greenwich Political Economy Research Centre.
    4. Athena Piterou & Anne‐Marie Coles, 2021. "A review of business models for decentralised renewable energy projects," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 1468-1480, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sören Eriksson, 2013. "The aircraft industry as a tool for economic and industrial development – the case of Indonesia," Chapters, in: Sören Eriksson (ed.), Clusters and Economic Growth in Asia, chapter 7, pages 141-164, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. T. Gries & R. Grundmann & I. Palnau & M. Redlin, 2017. "Innovations, growth and participation in advanced economies - a review of major concepts and findings," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 293-351, April.
    3. Gholz, Eugene & James, Andrew D. & Speller, Thomas H., 2018. "The second face of systems integration: An empirical analysis of supply chains to complex product systems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(8), pages 1478-1494.
    4. Valentina Costa & Federico Campanini, 2024. "Community-Centred Energy Planning: Within and beyond Administrative Borders," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-26, March.
    5. Hobday, Mike & Rush, Howard & Tidd, Joe, 2000. "Innovation in complex products and system," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(7-8), pages 793-804, August.
    6. Akio Matsumoto & Ugo Merlone & Ferenc Szidarovszky, 2017. "Extended oligopolies with contingent workforce," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 27(5), pages 989-1005, November.
    7. Bonaccorsi, Andrea & Pammolli, Fabio & Tani, Simone, 1996. "The changing boundaries of system companies," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 5(6), pages 539-560, December.
    8. Davies, Andrew & Brady, Tim, 2000. "Organisational capabilities and learning in complex product systems: towards repeatable solutions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(7-8), pages 931-953, August.
    9. Amelia Mutter, 2019. "Obduracy and Change in Urban Transport—Understanding Competition Between Sustainable Fuels in Swedish Municipalities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-16, November.
    10. Poudeh, Hossein Dehghani & Cheshmberah, Mohsen & Torabi, Hassan & Karimi Gavareshki, Mohammad Hossein & Hosnavi, Reza, 2019. "Determining and prioritizing the factors influencing the outsourcing of Complex Product Systems R&D projects employing ANP and grey-DEMATEL method (case study: Aviation Industries Organization, Iran)," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 57-68.
    11. Pejman Peykani & Jafar Gheidar-Kheljani & Sheida Shahabadi & Seyyed Hassan Ghodsypour & Mojtaba Nouri, 2023. "A two-phase resource-constrained project scheduling approach for design and development of complex product systems," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-25, March.
    12. Nightingale, P., 2000. "The product-process-organisation relationship in complex development projects," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(7-8), pages 913-930, August.
    13. Yupeng Li & Zhaotong Wang & Xiaoyu Zhong & Fan Zou, 2019. "Identification of influential function modules within complex products and systems based on weighted and directed complex networks," Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, Springer, vol. 30(6), pages 2375-2390, August.
    14. Zoltán Csedő & Máté Zavarkó & Balázs Vaszkun & Sára Koczkás, 2021. "Hydrogen Economy Development Opportunities by Inter-Organizational Digital Knowledge Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-26, August.
    15. Zhongji Yang & Liangqun Qi & Xin Li & Tianxi Wang, 2022. "How Does Successful Catch-Up Occur in Complex Products and Systems from the Innovation Ecosystem Perspective? A Case of China’s High-Speed Railway," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, June.
    16. Kwak, Kiho & Yoon, Hyungseok (David), 2020. "Unpacking transnational industry legitimacy dynamics, windows of opportunity, and latecomers’ catch-up in complex product systems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(4).
    17. Zubizarreta, Mikel & Cuadrado, Jesús & Iradi, Jon & García, Harkaitz & Orbe, Aimar, 2017. "Innovation evaluation model for macro-construction sector companies: A study in Spain," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 22-37.
    18. Prencipe, Andrea, 1997. "Technological competencies and product's evolutionary dynamics a case study from the aero-engine industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(8), pages 1261-1276, January.
    19. Mulotte, L. & Dussauge, P. & Mitchell, W., 2012. "Does pre-entry licensing undermine the performance of subsequent independent activities? Evidence from the global aerospace industry, 1944-2000," Other publications TiSEM 8746bfd8-c7ff-4281-a499-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    20. Lee, Joosung J. & Yoon, Hyungseok, 2015. "A comparative study of technological learning and organizational capability development in complex products systems: Distinctive paths of three latecomers in military aircraft industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(7), pages 1296-1313.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:indcch:v:32:y:2023:i:3:p:605-621.. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://academic.oup.com/icc .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.