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

Conclusions 229
Observation 2: Consensus oriented approach to vision building
A further observation concerns the implicit focus on developing shared
visions. But there may be an inherent paradox in a consensus approach to
transitions. Radically new concepts that form the basis for transitions are
generally not produced in that way. Think about Spence Silver who
discovered the weak glue used for Post-it Notes, and who was explicitly
ordered by his company that the rejection of further funding of his invention
(or mistake as the company called it) was final (section 2.4.2 and Garud and
Karnoe, 2001: 15). And about Kees Wiechers 3 who invented the concept
green electricity, but found that almost no-one in his company believed in it.
And about Eric-Jan Tuininga 4 who challenged the nuclear route, and in a
1977 televised debate, found that his opponent who defended the nuclear
route had expected Tuininga to defend coal as an alternative and was totally
taken by surprise when energy saving and cogeneration was proposed. What
these examples and many other new concepts that were initiated have in
common is that they are born out of alternative frames of reference, with
only a few people initially believing in and committing to the new concept.
The relative successful cases of decentral cogeneration and green electricity
suggest that it is not necessarily about developing a shared vision but about
developing an alternative vision and mobilising actors along the way as
initial alternative practices gain strength.
Suggestion 2: Provide space for alternative frames of reference
The observation shows the importance to provide space for alternative, out
of the box, thinking. One way to facilitate this is the development of arenas
and settings in which actors are forced to make their underlying
assumptions, beliefs and values explicit. Deliberative policy analysis is a
useful tool in this respect (Hisschemöller et al., 2002; Hoppe and Peterse,
1998; Grin et al., 2004).
Observation 3: Limited attention for co-evolution of innovation and
institutional change
Finally we want to stress that transition paths are shaped through the
emergence and formation of alternative institutional arrangements, implying
new combinations of technological and organisational forms connected to
new patterns of interaction and coordination between actors. Also the main
dynamics in the electricity system in the past decades is based on emergence
and expansion of alternative institutional arrangements for green electricity
3 Based on personal communication with Kees Wiechers, April 2005.
4 Based on personal communication with Eric-Jan Tuininga, June 2005.