Social innovation for regional energy transition? An agency perspective on transformative change in non-core regions

ABSTRACT

Regional energy transitions are largely understood as technology-driven processes. We argue that social innovation (SI) is as important and that scrutinizing it calls for an agency perspective. Analysing two examples of SI in energy in Austrian non-core regions, we show how resources, relations and reflexivity enabled agency to promote SI and consequently sustain energy transition. We find that SI produces new regional resources and capacities, provides directionality for transformative change, and herewith aids the consolidation of transition pathways. Hence, we conclude that agency and SI are key variables of sustainability transitions and transformative change that deserve more scholarly attention.

KEYWORDS:

• social innovation
• energy transition
• agency
• non-core regions

JEL:

• O35
• P25
• Q42
• R11

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticism of earlier versions of the paper.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) [grant number 861657]; and TU Wien Bibliothek through its Open Access Funding Programme.