Understanding cross-sectoral innovations for urban water management through the lens of organizational ambidexterity

Urban water systems worldwide need integrated, cross-sectoral innovations to anticipate developments like climate change and population growth. Development and implementation of such innovations is challenging due to the operational and sectoral mindset of organizations in which these innovations take place. This study uses the concept of...

Functional diversity in circular building projects: A novel perspective to study actors, roles and circular results

Construction sectors have a long way to go to realize a circular economy. Many organizational barriers and institutional characteristics inhibit the sector’s transition to circular practices. Nevertheless, within this early phase of the transition, several building projects were realized. This research aims to learn from these frontrunners, in...

Exploring incumbents’ agency: Institutional work by grid operators in decentralized energy innovations

The agency of incumbents has gained increasing attention in the study of transitions. Recent studies show that besides being inert and resistant to change, incumbents can also support transitions. We focus on the agency of a particular type of incumbent, grid operators. In several countries, these actors play an active role in institutional...

Governing crowd-based innovations: an interdisciplinary research agenda

The crowd increasingly plays a key role in facilitating innovations in a variety of sectors, spurred on by IT-developments and the concomitant increase in connectivity. Initiatives in this direction, captured under the umbrella-term ‘crowd-based innovations’ (CBI), offer novel opportunities in all domains of society by increasing the access,...

When innovation meets institutions: the challenges of crowd-based innovations for governance

Crowd-based innovaties: verschuivende verantwoordelijkheden in een institutional void

The crowd increasingly plays a key role in facilitating innovations in a variety of sectors, spurred on by IT developments and the concomitant increase in connectivity. Initiatives in this direction, captured under the umbrella term ‘crowd-based innovations’, offer novel opportunities in socio-technical systems by increasing the access, reach...

Contested Technologies and Design for Values: The Case of Shale Gas

The introduction of new energy technologies may lead to public resistance and contestation. It is often argued that this phenomenon is caused by an inadequate inclusion of relevant public values in the design of technology. In this paper we examine the applicability of the value sensitive design (VSD) approach. While VSD was primarily introduced...