TY - JOUR

T1 - The role of social identity in institutional work for sociotechnical transitions

T2 - The case of transport infrastructure in Berlin

AU - Becker, Sophia

AU - Bögel, Paula

AU - Upham, Paul

N1 - We would like to thank all interview partners for their time and effort. We would also like to thank Meike Ortmanns and Raphael Lorenz-de Laigue for their assistance with the media analysis and background research. We would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments that substantially helped us to improve the manuscript. Furthermore, we would like to thank the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research, FONA-program, for partially funding this research.

PY - 2021/1/1

Y1 - 2021/1/1

N2 - Generally, sociotechnical change requires that agency is exercised across multiple, connected levels or contexts. Yet there is very little work in the sociotechnical sustainability transitions literature that theorises these connections in ways that acknowledge the individual-level processes involved. Here we show how identity theory can connect macro- and micro-levels of analysis, with identity construction being a social psychological process that is also involved in institutional work. For empirical illustration we use the case of emerging mobility transitions in Berlin, Germany, in particular aspects of institutional work for infrastructural change in favor of cycling. The study shows how the construction of a common identity among varied actor groups has been key to a citizen campaign for safe cycling infrastructure. The construction of a socially inclusive identity relating to cycling has been made possible by prioritizing the development of a campaign network comprised of weak ties among stakeholders, rather than a closer-knit network based on a more exclusive group of sporty cyclists. The findings are discussed in the light of both social psychological models and sociotechnical transitions theory. The implications for scaling niche practices for sustainability are considered.

AB - Generally, sociotechnical change requires that agency is exercised across multiple, connected levels or contexts. Yet there is very little work in the sociotechnical sustainability transitions literature that theorises these connections in ways that acknowledge the individual-level processes involved. Here we show how identity theory can connect macro- and micro-levels of analysis, with identity construction being a social psychological process that is also involved in institutional work. For empirical illustration we use the case of emerging mobility transitions in Berlin, Germany, in particular aspects of institutional work for infrastructural change in favor of cycling. The study shows how the construction of a common identity among varied actor groups has been key to a citizen campaign for safe cycling infrastructure. The construction of a socially inclusive identity relating to cycling has been made possible by prioritizing the development of a campaign network comprised of weak ties among stakeholders, rather than a closer-knit network based on a more exclusive group of sporty cyclists. The findings are discussed in the light of both social psychological models and sociotechnical transitions theory. The implications for scaling niche practices for sustainability are considered.

KW - Agency

KW - Cycling infrastructure

KW - Institutional work

KW - Mobility transitions

KW - Social identity

KW - Management studies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85094612431&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120385

DO - 10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120385

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85094612431

VL - 162

JO - Technological Forecasting and Social Change

JF - Technological Forecasting and Social Change

SN - 0040-1625

M1 - 120385

ER -