Analysing the interaction of an innovation field and its context for exploring different innovation pathways: the case of Smart Building

摘要: Innovations tend to develop in a non-linear way as they are subject to a complex interplay of structures and processes within a specific innovation field as well as within its socio-technical context. These are, for instance, specific actor constellations and institutional settings at the producer and consumer side, developments in complementary innovation fields or developments at a societal level. Innovation processes are also characterized by cumulative or learning effects, which may lead to path-dependencies and ‘lock-in’effects. As a result of this complex interplay, it is often uncertain, which pathway an innovation will take in the future. This holds particularly for innovations at an early development stage and which at the same time present a potentially radical innovation with respect to existing socio-technical structures. This is all the more true, if long-term developments are considered. Uncertainty may refer to the technical characteristics of an innovation, to the future application fields and the user segments and to the interpretation a society or different actor groups may attribute to a technology or service (Pinch & Bijker 1987), that is, to the future shape, function and meaning of an innovation. As a result, it is often uncertain, if an innovation will turn out as a sustainable innovation. This is to say, an innovation may not be considered as sustainable as such, but rather it depends on the specific variation of an innovation as well as its embedding in a specific context, if it will turn out as more or less sustainable. In this paper we present a future-oriented approach for exploring a range of alternative innovation pathways an innovation may take. These …