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

Publications

  1. The relationship between empathic concern and perceived personal costs for helping and how it is affected by similarity perceptions
  2. Boosting and sustaining passion
  3. Giving is a question of time: response times and contributions to an environmental public good
  4. Modeling and assessing mathematical competence over the lifespan
  5. Provisions for nullification of conservation and management measures in RFMO objection procedures
  6. Assessment of the transformative potential of interventions in addressing coastal and marine plastic pollution in Norway
  7. The Contribution of Large Banking Institutions to Systemic Risk
  8. Performance Saga: Interview 05
  9. Fatigue crack propagation in AA5083 structures additively manufactured via multi-layer friction surfacing
  10. Energy transitions in small-scale regions – What we can learn from a regional innovation systems perspective.
  11. SAMT
  12. Converging perspectives in audience studies and digital literacies
  13. Meta-analytic cointegrating rank tests for dependent panels
  14. Harmonization in the World Values Survey
  15. Article 72 CISG
  16. Developing pragmatic competence in a study abroad context
  17. Gender perspectives in resilience, vulnerability and adaptation to global environmental change
  18. Introduction to the Psychology of Entrepreneurship
  19. Machine Learning-Supported Planning of Lead Times in Job Shop Manufacturing
  20. Levels of indicator development for education for sustainable development
  21. On kites, comets, and stars. Sums of eigenvector coefficients in (molecular) graphs.
  22. Digitalisierung und Differenzierung
  23. Retention Management im Mittelstand
  24. A Theory-Based Concept for Fostering Sustainability Competencies in Engineering Programs
  25. Manipulating Belief in Free Will and Its Downstream Consequences
  26. Mycorrhiza in tree diversity–ecosystem function relationships
  27. Determination of the antifungal agent posaconazole in human serum by HPLC with parallel column-switching technique
  28. Beyond Technology Push vs. Demand Pull
  29. Cultural Policies and Local Planning Strategies