A leverage points perspective on social networks to understand sustainability transformations: evidence from Southern Transylvania

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Sustainability transformations research increasingly recognizes the importance of local actors and their networks to foster fundamental societal change. Local actors have different types of relations between each other (e.g., sharing material resources, giving advice) through which they jointly intervene in different system characteristics. We conducted social network analyses of 32 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who drive initiatives to foster sustainability in Southern Transylvania, Romania. In so doing, we applied a leverage points perspective by differentiating between relations according to the system characteristic they address, such as the parameters, feedbacks, design and intent of the system. Additionally, we tested for differences of centrality metrics (i.e., weighted degree, betweenness, eigenvector) from NGOs that conduct different actions (i.e., amplification processes) to increase the impact of their sustainability initiatives. Our results reveal several NGOs that have central positions in their networks for intervening in both shallower (i.e., parameters and feedbacks) and deeper (i.e., design and intent of a system) system characteristics. We also identified NGOs that are only central for intervening in specific system characteristics. In addition, we found that specific groups of amplification processes (i.e., amplifying within and out) are associated with the NGOs’ positions in the parameters, feedbacks, and design networks. We conclude that the leverage points perspective in social network analysis has the potential to identify key actors and shed light on the attributes of local actors for intervening in shallower and deeper system characteristics to foster sustainability transformations.

Original languageEnglish
JournalSustainability Science
Volume16
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)809-826
Number of pages18
ISSN1862-4065
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 05.2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We are deeply grateful and feel privileged to work with all the local actors and organisations in Southern Transylvania. We thank Cristina Apetrei and David J. Abson for inspiring discussion on the topic of the manuscript. We thank Rebecca Laycock Pedersen for the valuable English editing. We thank two anonymous reviewers and the editor for their critical and insightful comments. This research is supported by the Volkswagenstiftung and the Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur (Grant Number A112269). This research draws on work undertaken in a large transdisciplinary research project (Leverage Points for Sustainability Transformation). The author(s) acknowledge and thank all project members for their ideas and input in the early stages of this work, even where they are not listed as authors. Full details of project members and their research are available at https://leveragepoints.org . David P. M. Lam has also been supported by a research fellowship granted by the Foundation of German Business (sdw). Andra-Ioana Horcea-Milcu acknowledges funding through the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska‐Curie grant agreement number 840207.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).

Documents

DOI

Recently viewed

Activities

  1. Research Project 'Emotionalization of Religion'
  2. Project CAM Exposed: Licklider and the Early Internet's "Enslavement of Mankind"
  3. VIT-AP Universität
  4. Organization Studies (Fachzeitschrift)
  5. Supporting Student Teachers in School: A Module-Based Training Concept for Mentors
  6. Neuron, Elektron, Psychon - 2009
  7. Archival Research on Integrated Reporting: A systematic review of main drivers and the impact of integrated reporting on firm value
  8. The Sociotechnical Lives of Digital Identification: Intermediaries, Citizenship and Belonging
  9. Vorlesung "Das deutsche Regierungssystem in vergleichender Perspektive"
  10. DGLR International Symposium - 2007
  11. Electronics (Switzerland) (Fachzeitschrift)
  12. Vortrag: Nachhaltigkeitsinnovationen
  13. Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Berlin e.V. (Externe Organisation)
  14. 16th (EC)² Conference - 2005
  15. Ziele
  16. SASE 2021 – Virtual Conference
  17. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group (Verlag)
  18. Graduate School (Organisation)
  19. From Cybernetics to Bionics: The Biological Computer Laboratory (50th Annual Meeting of SHOT)
  20. Colour is as colour does: Green and social ordering
  21. Journal of Business Venturing (Fachzeitschrift)
  22. Shift-Festival
  23. The effects of training on employee suggestions and promotions in an internal labor market
  24. Wie kann man beim Modellieren Studierfähigkeit entwickeln?
  25. Lodz University of Technology
  26. Sind Gründer-CEOs weniger anfällig für myopisches Verhalten?
  27. Fair Digital Work Practices: Avenues towards Crowdworker Voice
  28. 36th EGOS Colloquium - EGOS 2020
  29. Earth System Governance Taskforce on Knowledge Cumulation (Externe Organisation)