Innovation for Sustainability, Circular Economy, System Transitions and Societal Transformations

Dear Colleagues,

Research on the role and impact of innovation and innovation policy has widened its focus to include positive ecological and societal outcomes. The widening of focus resulted in new studies on business models (e.g., Bocken and Geradts, 2020; Konietzko et al., 2023), multiple value creation, institutional and transformative change approaches (e.g., Schot and Steinmueller, 2018; Jonker and Faber, 2019; Huntjens et al., 2023), alternative and hybrid organisational and ownership structures (e.g., Guttmann, 2021; Mihailova, 2023), financing schemes (e.g., Shome et al., 2023), (integrated) system(s) transitions (e.g., Mikulčić et al., 2021; Türkeli and Kemp, 2021; Geels et al., 2023), and policy instruments and governance mechanisms (e.g., Borrás, 2020; Diepenmaat et al., 2020; Borrás et al., 2023).

Comprehensive forms of innovation for sustainability are studied in sustainability transitions, circular economy, just transitions, and societal transformation. Wellbeing and quality-of-life aspects of innovation gained salience in policy circles (European Commission, 2023; European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, 2023; JRC, 2023; EC DG RTD, 2023). For societal challenges, transition management and mission innovation have been proposed (Kemp et al., 2007; Mazzucato, 2018), and policy attempts have been critically reviewed (Kern and Howlett, 2009; Voβ et al., 2009).

In this Special Issue, we welcome original research articles and reviews that contribute to the academic literature on directionality, spatiality, institutional aspects, actor–system dynamics, and (multilevel) governance aspects of innovation for sustainability. Next to process studies using historical narratives, we welcome computational and game-theoretic approaches to analysing innovation for sustainability, sustainability transitions, just transitions, and economy-wide transformations to a circular economy and wellbeing economy. Research areas may also include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Enablers, emergence, barriers and opportunities for circular, social, organisational, and/or digital innovations, business models, organisational modes, ownership structures, and financing schemes for a circular economy and just transitions.
• Analysis of innovation policy instruments and governance mechanisms for sustainability transitions and a circular economy.
• Critical theoretical research on the concepts of a social economy, digital economy, blue economy, wellbeing economy, and post-capitalist economy
• Analysis of the interplay between transformation processes in water, food, construction, housing, energy, mobility/transport, waste management, chemistry, textiles, health, and education sectors.
• Scholarly work may also include quantitative methods (e.g., AI/ML, GIS, big data analytics, bibliometrics/scientometrics), socio-technical configuration analysis, system dynamics, agent-based modelling, multi-actor interaction analysis, game-theoretic approaches, serious games, and/or in-depth qualitative methods in the aforementioned research areas and sectors.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

References

• Bocken, N. M., & Geradts, T. H. (2020). Barriers and drivers to sustainable business model innovation: Organization design and dynamic capabilities. Long Range Planning 53: 101950.
• Borrás, S., & Edler, J. (2020). The roles of the state in the governance of socio-technical systems’ transformation. Research Policy 49: 103971.
• Borrás, S., Haakonsson, S., Taudal Poulsen, R., Pallesen, T., Hendriksen, C., Somavilla, L., & Gerli, F. (2023). The Transformative Capacity of Public Sector Organizations in Sustainability Transitions: A Conceptualization (No. 2023/2). Lund University, CIRCLE-Centre for Innovation Research.
• Diepenmaat, H., Kemp, R., & Velter, M. (2020). Why sustainable development requires societal innovation and cannot be achieved without this. Sustainability 12: 1270.
• Huntjens, P., Rinscheid, A., Kemp, R., Van Helvoirt, B., Aarts, N., Visseren-Hamakers, I., ... & Hassink, J. (2023). The Transformation Flower Approach for leveraging change towards multiple value creation and institutional change.
• European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (2023) Circular economy and quality of life. Accessible at: https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/life/circular-economy-and-quality-life_en.
• European Commission (2023). 2023 Strategic Foresight Report: Sustainability and Wellbeing at the heart of Europe's Open Strategic Autonomy. Accessible at: https://commission.europa.eu/document/f8f67d33-194c-4c89-a4a6-795980a1dabd_en.
• European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (2023). The integration of key transformative R&I principles in European policies Accessible at: https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/knowledge-publications-tools-and-data/publications/all-publications/integration-key-transformative-ri-principles-european-policies_en.
• JRC (2023). Towards a fair and sustainable Europe 2050: Social and economic choices in sustainability transitions, Accessible at: https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC133716 JRC Publications Repository.
• Jonker, J., & Faber, N. (2019). Business models for multiple value creation: Exploring strategic changes in organisations enabling to address societal challenges. Sustainable business models: innovation, implementation and success, 151–179.
• Geels, F. W., Kern, F., & Clark, W. C. (2023). System transitions research and sustainable development: Challenges, progress, and prospects. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120: e2206230120.
• Guttmann, A. (2021). Commons and cooperatives: A new governance of collective action. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics 92: 33–53.
• Kemp R., Derk Loorbach & Jan Rotmans (2007) Transition management as a model for managing processes of co-evolution towards sustainable development. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 14: 78–91, DOI: 10.1080/13504500709469709.
• Kemp, R., Pel, B., Scholl, C., & Boons, F. (2022). Diversifying Deep Transitions: Accounting for socio-economic directionality. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 44: 110–124.
• Kern, F., Howlett, M. (2009). Implementing transition management as policy reforms: A case study of the Dutch energy sector. Policy Sciences 42: 391–408.
• Konietzko, J., Das, A., & Bocken, N. (2023). Towards regenerative business models: A necessary shift?. Sustainable Production and Consumption 38: 372–388.
• Mazzucato, M. (2018). Mission-oriented innovation policies: challenges and opportunities. Industrial and Corporate Change 27: 803–815.
• Mihailova, D. (2023). Redefining business models for the energy transition: Social innovation and sustainable value creation in the European energy system. Energy Research & Social Science 100: 103114.
• Mikulčić, H., Baleta, J., Klemeš, J. J., & Wang, X. (2021). Energy transition and the role of system integration of the energy, water and environmental systems. Journal of Cleaner Production 292: 126027.
• Schot, J., & Steinmueller, W. E. (2018). Three frames for innovation policy: R&D, systems of innovation and transformative change. Research Policy 47: 1554–1567.
• Shome, Samik, M. Kabir Hassan, Sushma Verma, Tushar Ranjan Panigrahi (2023). Impact investment for sustainable development: A bibliometric analysis. International Review of Economics & Finance 84: 770–800.
• Türkeli, S., & Kemp, R. (2021). System Transitions for Sustainable Development Goal 9. In Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (pp. 1147-1158). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
• Voß, J.-P., Smith, A., Grin, J. (2009). Designing long-term policy: Rethinking transition management. Policy Sciences 42: 275–302.

Dr. Serdar Türkeli‬
Prof. Dr. René Kemp
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• innovation
• sustainability
• circular economy
• multiple value creation
• new business models
• transformative change
• social economy
• alternative economy
• public policy
• governance