Innovation and institutional change: the transition to a sustainable ...

Conclusions 225
Figure 8.1 Sociotechnical systems embedded in wider societal structures
Knowledge
infrastructure
Economic
structure
Technologies
Actors
Networks Institutions
Practices
Linkages
Political
structure
Societal
structure
The nuclear path serves as a different kind of illustration. Here, institutional
arrangements in the knowledge infrastructure were reflecting the promise
and expected implementation of nuclear energy, with strong government
support. Industry was also involved, and was positive about the expected
low-cost electricity that could be provided through nuclear energy. However,
changes in broader societal arrangements diverged from the nuclear path,
and the inability to synchronise led to demise.
Both cases also illustrated the relevance of the concept of institutional logics.
Nuclear technology failed because of erosion of the institutional logics it
represented: growth dynamics along ‘large-scale, low-cost central electricity
provision enables electricity demand growth equates economic growth
equates progress’. Decentral cogeneration was able to spread as an
alternative institutional logics of ‘doing more with less’ emerged and gained
momentum as it was successfully illustrated in a range of organisations and
industries and embraced by a variety of actor groups.
The conclusion we draw is that the approach has promise and value for
analysing and understanding dynamics in sociotechnical systems.
Nevertheless, we acknowledge the rudimentary nature of the model as it
needs more specification in terms of the relationships between the different
elements and refinement through application in sociotechnical systems other
than the Dutch electricity system.