Organisational learning for sustainability transitions

This paper aims to present a conceptual discussion on the potential role that business corporations can play in sustainability transitions of sociotechnical systems, from the perspective of interactive learning processes. In order to discuss what type of organisational learning can lead to sustainability transitions, the paper borrows insights from the business management literature on organisational and inter-organisational learning, particularly related to the social learning theory of action and the discussion of learning loops (Armitage et al., 2008). The purpose is to identify and discuss aspects and dynamics of learning processes at organisational and inter-organisational levels that can favour or hinder sustainability transitions in the context of interactions between rather different actors. The overarching theoretical reference for this paper is based on the multi-level perspective (MLP). According to the MLP, key societal functions are fulfilled by socio-technical systems, which are formed of three basic analytical levels: landscape, regime and niches (Geels and Schot, 2007). Sociotechnical regime is the dominant mean of fulfilling a societal function. The interpretations and actions of different regime actors (e.g. business corporations) are guided by the regime’s basic architecture, which is characterised by relatively stable configurations and alignments of different cognitive and normative elements, activities and processes, including knowledge, techniques, artefacts, routines, practices, rules, world views, values, problem definition and interpretation. The stability of a regime’s basic architecture locks it within path-dependent trajectories, implying that regime changes are rather incremental (Schot and Geels, 2007). However, sustainability transitions require deep and broad structural changes in both technical and social components of the basic architecture of an incumbent regime, which go far beyond incremental or trivial adjustments (Smith et al., 2010). In fact, transitions involve the disruption of pre-existing commitments, roles and rules, and the development of new practices, values and identities, implying not only a regime shift, but also the transformation of the governance of the whole socio-technical system (Marques et al., 2012). It is widely emphasised by sustainability transitions scholars that such powerful changes are the outcome of multiple interactions, developments and learning processes within and between the three levels of a socio-technical system (Geels and Schot, 2007). In other words, transitions require powerful systemic learning processes and the engagement of all actors (i.e. multi-stakeholder learning process) from all levels (i.e. it is a multi-level learning process) (Loorbach et al., 2009). Therefore, the understanding of the roles, relative importance and interdependencies of the different actors in such systemic learning is of paramount importance to better understand the conditions under which sustainability transitions can occur. Despite being at the heart of transition theory, interactive learning between the different actors, from the different socio-technical levels is only vaguely defined and operationalised in most of the conceptual and empirical studies on sustainability transitions (Armitage et al., 2008). Moreover, the great bulk of scholarly work on the topic focuses largely on learning dynamics at the niche level. In fact, niches are conceived as protected learning spaces, where radical innovations with potential for triggering a regime shift can flourish (Geels and Schot, 2007). However, as discussed above, powerful changes such as those implied by socio-technical transitions require multiple interactive learning processes, which clearly need to go beyond protected spaces, and involve, for instance, powerful regime actors such as multinational corporations. In other words, the transitions require that actors from the different levels, particularly niche and regime actors, engage to, and learn from each other. Niche-regime interaction is one of the main challenges for transitions, and for the sustainability transition theory itself. Therefore, by looking at the rather neglected role played by business corporations (e.g. powerful mainstream actors) in collaborative learning for sustainability transitions, this paper helps bridging this gap, particularly in terms of refinement of the concept of socio learning for sustainability transitions