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

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  • 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.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/icc/dtac063
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    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. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
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