Introducing the Endowment-Practice-Institutions (EPI) framework for studying agency in the institutional contestation of socio-technical regimes
Journal
Journal of Cleaner Production
ISSN
0959-6526
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2021-05-10
Author(s)
Abstract
A timely transition of socio-technical systems to more sustainable alternatives is crucial in mitigating climate change and other environmental problems. While innovation plays a significant role in such transitions, policy makers and the scientific community have become increasingly aware that the deliberate destabilization of existing socio-technical regimes—including associated institutions and technologies—is also often necessary. However, such aspiration is politically contested. This paper presents the Endowment-Practice-Institutions (EPI) Framework to study the contestation of institutions underpinning socio-technical regimes. By integrating key theories from Institutional Sociology and Political Economy, the framework conceives actors’ capability of influencing institutional structures to be dependent on their institutional work practices and the various endowments that enable these practices. We present Japanese coal policy as an example to illustrate how the framework can be used to assess actors’ institutional work and their influence on institutional outcomes. In addition to providing new theoretical insights, the framework helps to systematically analyze agency-driven mechanisms pertinent for the maintenance or destabilization of socio-technical regimes.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Elsevier Science
Volume
296
Start page
126396
Division(s)
Eprints ID
263548
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
open.access
Name
S0959652621006168
Size
97.85 KB
Format
HTML
Checksum (MD5)
2c09dbb7d3f845a5888e5083952c7b8f