TY - JOUR

T1 - The relational sociology of eco-innovation

AU - David, Martin

AU - Rutjes, Henriette

AU - Bleicher, Alena

N1 - Funding Information: Today’s scientific knowledge about recycling is created through research practices funded by research programs. This includes research into the recycling of various things: airplanes, mining heaps and sludge, as well as critical metals from motorcycles, electronic components and LCD screens and also the development of an industrial recycling technology chain (Duwe, 2015). Interviewees drew strong links between recycling practices and processing from primary mining, which had been practiced in the region for centuries (Group Interview 1, Interview 2). This shows that, from a figurational perspective, the resource-recycling field is perceived as originating in the field of primary mining. Funding Information: At the beginning, the network was financially supported by the European Regional Development Fund and the German state of Lower Saxony (Initiative Future Harz, 2016a). Its members are local recycling businesses and industries, research institutions and administrative bodies from the Gos- lar municipal area (Initiative Future Harz, 2016b). An overview of the founding members is shown in Table 1. The network developed in two stages. First, between 2010 and 2012, the IHZ initiated a series of meetings whereby research institutes like the IFAD and CUTEC invited regional businesses active in recycling, processing, logistics and IT to come and brainstorm new recycling business ideas. Once a business model based on regional research and recycling had been developed, the second stage (2012 onwards) involved inviting more companies and institutes to join the network; this included two firms from outside the region. Hence, in 2015 REWI-MET already boasted 11 secondary mining projects (Duwe, 2015: 68). Funding Information: The REWIMET network is what Dunne (2009: 50) calls a “political intervention” in a given figuration that externalizes the interdependencies between actors. In 2009, the Initiative Future Harz (IZH) project was initiated by administrative bodies of two counties in the region. It received national public funding and was politically supported by the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Climate Protection and the Ministry of Science and Culture of the federal state of Lower Saxony (Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Climate Protection Lower-Saxony, 2017). IZH aimed to initiate and foster regional (economic) development by identifying promising business ideas and bringing together regional actors to realize those ideas. One such idea was the establishment of a research cluster focused on recycling strategic resources and connecting relevant businesses and scientific institutions within the region to promote research and development in the area of recycling technologies. REWIMET was seen as a way of potentially boosting research and the local economy with the aim of developing the region, which is economically underdeveloped. The region has high rates of unemployment and a shrinking population (Group Interview 1, Interview 4). Thus, from the perspective of state ministries, local scientific institutes and regional authorities, REWIMET would generate economic stimuli like more employment in processing, research and services (Goldmann et al., 2012: 290; Duwe, 2015: 65). Publisher Copyright: © Federación Española de Sociología.

PY - 2019/11/22

Y1 - 2019/11/22

N2 - While sociology often adopts a firm’s capacity perspective when looking at innovation, this article intends to provide a relational perspective on innovationstemming from the relational sociology of Norbert Elias. Taking the example of a German scrap metal recycling network, understood here as an eco-innovation, the article strives to conceptually re-embed innovation in socio-historical contexts. This re-embedding also includes examining the role of values during innovation-creating processes, which is treated with great ambiguity in the eco-innovation literature. Despite showing that ecologic values play a minor role in the eco-innovation process,the article points to that the eco-innovation is deeply related to complex historical developments which comprise scientific knowledge creation.

AB - While sociology often adopts a firm’s capacity perspective when looking at innovation, this article intends to provide a relational perspective on innovationstemming from the relational sociology of Norbert Elias. Taking the example of a German scrap metal recycling network, understood here as an eco-innovation, the article strives to conceptually re-embed innovation in socio-historical contexts. This re-embedding also includes examining the role of values during innovation-creating processes, which is treated with great ambiguity in the eco-innovation literature. Despite showing that ecologic values play a minor role in the eco-innovation process,the article points to that the eco-innovation is deeply related to complex historical developments which comprise scientific knowledge creation.

KW - Sociology

KW - value

KW - knowledge

KW - figurational sociology

KW - Sustainability Science

KW - Eco-innovation

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85081293593&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.22325/fes/res.2019.28

DO - 10.22325/fes/res.2019.28

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 28

SP - 53

EP - 70

JO - Revista Española de Sociología

JF - Revista Española de Sociología

SN - 1578-2824

IS - 3

ER -