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Collective action and the role of organized events in
governing sustainability transitions
Suyash Jolly
Senior researcher
Nordland Research Institute
Bodø, Norway
Blah Blah Blah………
Source: https://twitter.com/gretathunberg/status/1459612735294029834
Source: https://twitter.com/EmmanuelChaunu/status/1460166140869718018/photo/1
Bla Bla Bla Bla Bla………
Source: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/what-has-cop26-achieved-so-far/
Source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/11/cop26-success-or-failure/
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/iese/2021/11/24/why-climate-change-needs-robust-action-and-cop26-
was-not-a-failure/?sh=1d79c27470bc
Do collective events serve any purpose for accelerating sustainability
transitions ?
How can we understand the role of events in accelerating sustainability
transitions and even maintaining the status quo?
Summary of the paper
Review paper focusing on understanding how the role of events have been
conceptualized in different bodies of literature (organization and management
studies; economic geography; Science, technology and society studies (STS))
Map out different research themes within the sustainability transitions literature
which can be studied by analyzing events
Studying the potential of events to accelerate sustainability transitions and even
maintain the status quo
Background: Events in the sustainability transitions literature
“ Actors produce, exchange, consume and negotiate these narratives in a variety of
locations, such as trade shows, academic and professional conferences,
governmental hearings, user group sessions, online forums, the media, and other
potentially influential events, where some might come to dominate, constituting
institutionalisation (Lampel and Meyer, 2008; Hardy and Maguire, 2010). ” (Smith
& Raven, 2012; p 1032).
Role of events as depicted in the innovation studies, economic
geography and STS literature
“As interest in the newly emerging path grew, “do-it-yourself” owner-users began
organizing “wind meetings” several times a year (Tranæs, 2000). These meetings
helped create a forum for sharing knowledge and a network whose participants felt
they were part of a larger community (Jørgensen and Karnøe, 1995)” (Garud &
Karnoe, 2003; p288)
“ By 1975, different concerned groups involved in wind power had initiated “wind
meetings”, an important collective forum for mutual knowledge sharing among
producers, users and self-builders. These “wind meetings” held four to eight times
a year offered a forum for the exchange of ideas between entrepreneurs,
regulators and utilities ” (Karnøe & Garud, 2012; p740)
Economic geography
“ Temporary events have the potential to configure institutional fields (Lange et al.,
2014; Henn and Bathelt, 2015), as they can act as catalysts of institutional and
evolutionary change (Schüssler et al., 2013; Suwala and Micek, 2018). However,
very little is known about the specific conditions that allow such change to occur
over time, as only a few studies have connected field-configuring events with new
path creation (Sydow and Koll, 2017; Suwala and Micek, 2018). The accumulation
of unique temporary events anchored in place specific institutional settings –and
their temporal and sequential unfolding in particular –can result in path dependent
processes, thereby contributing to further structuration and stabilization of new
practices” (Strambach & Pflitsch, 2020; p104006).
Science, technology and society studies (STS)
“ For these reasons, the relational perspective has proposed a very different
approach to policy – what it calls “hybrid forums” – as a solution to the twofold
problem of expertise and representation (Callon et al., 2009; Mulder et al., 2011;
see also Musiolik and Markard, 2011). Rather than delegating responsibility to
politicians and scientists, hybrid forums bring experts and laypersons together with
legislators and citizens. ” (Garud & Gehman, 2012; p989)
STS and organization studies
“ Hybrid forums provide an architecture, or a platform, that facilitates
participation. They are considered hybrid because of the variety and heterogeneity
of the actors involved and the different evaluative criteria with which they
participate. Additionally, such venues are characterized by distributed authority,
lateral accountability, mutual monitoring, and multiple justifications (see also
Boltanski & Thévenot, 2006; Stark, 2009). In turn, these architectures create a
space where actors can meaningfully engage with counterparts, even when
relations between them are publicly adversarial (Bartley, 2007; Mair &
Hehenberger, 2013). ” (Ferraro, Etzion & Gehman, 2015; p374)
Different purposes of events
1. Tacit knowldege sharing and informal face to face networking
2. Enhancing local, regional, national and global trade linkages
3. Facilitating multi-lateral regulatory and policy debates
4. Platforms for creating legitimacy
5. Triggering uncommon interactions between actors who are not connected to
each other
6. Providing avenues for citizen participation and non-experts in policy matters
7. Potential avenues for new regional industry path creation
Theoretical
approach
Field Configuring events
Trade shows/ fairs
Hybrid forums
Definition
“ They are settings in which people from diverse
organizations and with diverse purposes assemble
periodically, or on a one
-time basis, to announce new
products, develop industry standards, construct social
networks, recognize accomplishments, share and
interpret information, and transact business “ (Lampel
& Meyer, 2008; p 1026)
“ Trade fairs, viewed as temporary clusters, are
important events that support economic
processes of interactive learning and knowledge
creation. In such settings, geographical proximity
and face
-to-face contact enable actors from
different countries to exchange information
about markets, products and innovations. The
variety of planned and
unplanned meetings and
the rich ecology of information flows and
different forms of interaction create ‘global buzz’.
Firms
use such events to consciously establish
‘pipelines’ with new business partners worldwide.
“ (Bathelt & Schultz, 2008; p 2)
“ The controversies take place in public spaces that
we propose to call hybrid forums
—forums because
they are open spaces where groups can come
together to discuss technical options involving the
collective, hybrid because the groups involved and
the spokespersons claiming to represent them are
heterogeneous, including experts, politicians,
technicians, and laypersons who consider
themselves involved. They are also hybrid because
the questions and problems taken up are addressed
at different levels in a variety of domains, from
ethics to economic and including physiology, nuclear
physics, and electromagnetism “ (Callon, Lascoumes
& Barthe, 2009; p 18)
Aim and
purpose
Social settings allowing diverse participants to assemble
in temporarily organized social settings to engage in
collective sensemaking and decide on a trajectory for
the future
Oriented towards stimulating decentralized
learning and tacit knowledge exchange between
geographically distant actors
Avenues aimed at resolving conflicts between actors
with different level of power and expertise and
managing socio
-technical controversies by providing
opportunities for laypersons and ordinary citizens to
raise their concerns
Theoretical
background
Organization and management studies
Economic geography and industrial marketing
Science Technology and Society Studies (STS)
Integrating organization and management studies, economic geography and industrial marketing
and STS
Field configuring events
Field configuring events
“ They are settings in which people from diverse organizations and with diverse
purposes assemble periodically, or on a one-time basis, to announce new products,
develop industry standards, construct social networks, recognize accomplishments,
share and interpret information, and transact business “ (Lampel & Meyer, 2008; p
1026)
Source: Lampel & Meyer, 2008
Examples of prior studies
Source: Zilber, 2011
Source: Gross & Zilber, 2020
Source: Schussler, Ruling & Wittneben, 2014
Source: Nissilä, 2015
Source: Jolly & Raven, 2016
Source: https://www.wiwiss.fu-berlin.de/forschung/field-configuring-events/index.html
Trade shows/ fairs
Trade shows/ fairs
“ Trade fairs, viewed as temporary clusters, are important events that support
economic processes of interactive learning and knowledge creation. In such
settings, geographical proximity and face-to-face contact enable actors from
different countries to exchange information about markets, products and
innovations. The variety of planned and unplanned meetings and the rich ecology
of information flows and different forms of interaction create ‘global buzz’. Firms
use such events to consciously establish ‘pipelines’ with new business partners
worldwide. “ (Bathelt & Schultz, 2008; p 2)
Source: Rinallo & Golfetto, 2011
Examples of prior studies
Source: Li, 2014
Source: Bathelt, Golfetto & Rinallo, 2014
Source: Henn & Bathelt, 2015
Source: Rinallo, Bathelt & Golfetto, 2017
Hybrid forums
Hybrid forums
“ The controversies take place in public spaces that we propose to call hybrid
forums—forums because they are open spaces where groups can come together to
discuss technical options involving the collective, hybrid because the groups
involved and the spokespersons claiming to represent them are heterogeneous,
including experts, politicians, technicians, and laypersons who consider themselves
involved. They are also hybrid because the questions and problems taken up are
addressed at different levels in a variety of domains, from ethics to economic and
including physiology, nuclear physics, and electromagnetism “ (Callon, Lascoumes &
Barthe, 2009; p 18)
Source: Callon, Lascoumes & Barthe, 2010
Examples of prior studies
Source: Kerr, Burley & Tutton, 2007
Source: Garud, Gehman & Karunakaran, 2014
Source: Amilien, Tocco & Strandbakken, 2019
Post COP26 and Covid 19 model of organizing events
Source: Etzion, Gehman & Davis, 2021
Identifying potential research themes for sustainability transitions
literature
Source: Geels, 2020; Fohim & Jolly, 2021
Multi-level perspective
Source: Fohim & Jolly, 2021
Source: Fohim & Jolly, 2021
Micro foundations of sustainability transitions
SNo.
Research theme
Identified research themes within the sustainability transitions literature
1
Studying the creation of sustainable
niches by mapping expectations
Understanding embryonic stages of niche development processes by following the developments in real
-time
rather than studying the processes in retrospect
2
Studying the politics of niche protection
Mapping the complex tradeoffs involved in creating or removing protective spaces for emerging niches by
understanding the narratives and counter
-narratives used by different actors in real-time
3
Studying the multi
-scalar linkages
supporting niche development
Studying the development of emerging niches in real
-time by understanding how previously unconnected
geographically distant actors meet together in concrete social settings and set up new transnational linkages
4
Studying niche
-regime interactions
Mapping the inter
-linkages between niche internal and niche external process by observing interactions between
niches and regimes in real
-time
5
Studying power dynamics between actors
and exclusion of non
-experts
Observing conflicts and contestations between actors and monitoring if the marginalized actors are provided
opportunities for raising their concerns in concrete social settings
Potential research themes
Studying the creation of sustainable niches by mapping expectations
Mapping the emerging niche expectations in the series of events and studying how
the expectations for promising niche innovations develop by following multiple
events over time
Understanding the gradual development of an emerging niche over time rather
than mapping a snapshot of the niche development process using a retrospective
approach
Studying the politics of niche protection
Events can indeed provide a useful research site for capturing the multiple stories
and arguments about protecting emerging niches that are present within a field at
a certain moment of time
Events can be useful to analyse the politics of supporting emerging niches and
withdrawing support by capturing the narratives and counter-narratives used by
different actors in real-time instead of taking a retrospective approach
Studying the multi-scalar linkages supporting niche development
Mapping how geographically distant actors come together and interact with each
other temporarily for building new trustful relationships, create global knowledge
flows in temporary settings by developing face-to-face contact
Explore the accumulation of temporary events which are anchored in place-specific
institutional settings and examine how they contribute towards the structuration of
new practices and also trigger the development of new regional clusters, platforms
and ecosystems
Studying niche-regime interactions
Study the niche-regime interactions by studying the niche internal and niche
external processes
Events provide useful sites for studying the process of niche development with a
focus on visions and expectations, first-order and second-order learning networks,
and the development of broader social networks
Events are useful for understanding how emerging niches gain legitimacy from the
socio-technical regime and stimulate the further development of niche-regime
linkages
Studying the power dynamics between actors and exclusion of non-
experts
Events can be used to study the underlying power relationships between actors
with varying levels of power (technocratic and political experts, citizens etc) and
legitimacy and understand the different negotiations between them by being
sensitive to the exclusion of non-experts
Studying and mapping the emerging sociotechnical controversies in real time and
the process of democratic dialogue between the political and technocratic experts
and the citizens and non-experts
Methodological tools for analysing events
Collection of data
Archival data such as brochures about the event including the event agenda, and
program; marketing material by event organizers and event participants, formal
reports prepared by conference organizers, social media mentions (e.g. Tweets and
Facebook posts by participants), social media articles, and press releases
Formal interviews and informal interactions with the event organizers and
participants during the event
Ethnographic observations during the event by making field notes, capturing
photographs of the event to collect visual data, video recording conversations
between the participants, collecting the official proceedings of the recorded
conversations
Analysis of the data
Using multi-event ethnography to track multiple events over time and tapping into
the backstage activities i.e. developments occurring before and after the event and
complementing them with analysis of the activities occurring during the event
(Zilber, 2020)
Understanding the intermediary and temporary outcomes of the event by looking
at the important decisions made after the event such as the important
recommendations made by the different experts, results achieved by the
organizers, feedback from the participants, development of new business
relationships, media assessment of the event, future events planned etc.
Judging the impact of an event requires an understanding of the fact if the event
creates field-level changes or just reproduces existing field-level dynamics (Islam,
2019)
Conclusion
Studying events can provide a systematic understanding of participatory and
distributed action between multiple actors in the events for governing
sustainability transitions
Events offer advantage of studying real time actor interactions and ongoing
understanding of transition process as they unfold in real time than retrospective
historical and contemporary case studies
Studying events help to bridge the gap between the micro processes and the macro
processes in sustainability transitions and to also link the local processes with the
long term global processes
Do collective events serve any purpose for accelerating
sustainability transitions or do they create more status quo ?
Returning back to Greta Thunberg’s speech
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