Narratives and counter-narratives in sustainability transitions
A study on the Port of Rotterdam from a multi-level perspective
Dr. ir. Johan Ninan (TU Delft - Integral Design & Management)
C. Stam (Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, TU Delft - Design & Construction Management)
Alfons Van Marrewijk (BI Norwegian Business School , TU Delft - Design & Construction Management, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
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Abstract
Infrastructure projects can act as niches for innovation development, contribute to strategic goals of network owners, and drive broader systemic transitions. However, limited research has examined how sustainability transitions are shaped through narratives and counternarratives around infrastructure projects. Using a case study of the port of Rotterdam, we analyze how three embedded projects - Maasvlakte 2, RDM Campus, and the Hydrogen Pipeline - reflected and shaped evolving narratives and counter-narratives over 20-years. Grounded in the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP), the study demonstrates how an infrastructure owner like the Port of Rotterdam Authority (PoRA) strategically mobilized narrative framing to reshape existing regimes over time. The study contributes to the debate on project management and transition studies by highlighting how infrastructure project owners respond to transition-related tensions by shaping, defending, and adapting project narratives over time, thereby influencing sustainability trajectories.
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