Inertia and resistance to change in multi-actor innovation processes – Evidence from two cases in the Netherlands

Abstract

Existing transitions literature often highlights successful experiments for changing practices through multi-actor processes but overlooks the challenges of adjusting incumbent practices and engaging actors in reflexive learning. The current article addresses this gap through two qualitative case studies of water-related co-creation processes in the Netherlands. Each case met inertia and resistance from various actors in different forms. We examine the difficulties encountered using data from semi-structured interviews and observations of micro-level interactions from embedded action research. We find that using transactional learning perspective combined with Practical Epistemology Analysis is useful for obtaining a worm-eye view of dynamics of incumbency on the actor-level, in contrast to the eagle-eye view commonly adopted in transitions studies. Our main contribution is the identification of specific barriers to change and demonstrating how a worm-eye perspective offers detailed insights into micro-level interactions that hinder sustainability transitions.