Transformation of Infrastructures: Sector Characteristics and Implications for Fundamental Change
Publication: Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 17, Issue 3
Abstract
Infrastructure sectors such as energy or water supply, sanitation, or telecommunications provide us with services that are essential for modern life and for industrialized societies. In this article, we explore some of the sectors’ key characteristics in order to better understand the conditions that stimulate or hinder far-reaching transformation processes in infrastructures. It will be argued that durable and capital-intensive assets, together with a high degree of systemness generate considerable inertia and impede fundamental change. At the same time, capital intensity and massive investment needs as well as negative environmental impacts represent sources for change. A high degree of regulation and an often large share of public utilities also play a key role for sector dynamics. Conceptual frameworks for studying infrastructures and making policy recommendations have to take into account these particularities and the close interplay of techno-economic, organizational, and institutional characteristics.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Archibugi, D. (2001). “Pavitt’s Taxonomy sixteen years on: A review article.” Econ. Innovation New Technol., 10(5), 415–425.
Armstrong, M., and Sappington, D. E. M. (2006). “Regulation, competition, and liberalization.” J. Econ. Lit., 44, 325–366.
Bartle, I. (2002). “When institutions no longer matter: Reform of telecommunications and electricity in Germany, France, and Britain.” J. Public Policy, 22(1), 1–27.
Baumol, W. J., Panzar, J. C., and Willig, R. D. (1982). Contestable markets and the theory of industry structure, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York.
Bausch, A., and Schwenker, B., eds. (2009). Handbook utility management , Springer, Heidelberg, Germany.
Binz, C., and Truffer, B. (2011). “Leapfrogging in Infrastructure: Identifying transition trajectories towards decentralized urban water management systems in China.” Technol. Forecasting Soc. Change, in press.
Brunekreeft, G. (2009). “Regulation of network charges.” Chapter 5, Handbook utility management, A. Bausch and B. Schwenker, eds., Springer, Heidelbery, Germany, 435–456.
Carlsson, B., and Stankiewicz, R. (1991). “On the nature, function, and composition of technological systems.” J. Evol. Econ., 1(2), 93–118.
Clark, W. W., II, and Lund, H. (2008). “Integrated technologies for sustainable stationary and mobile energy infrastructures.” Util. Policy, 16(2), 130–140.
Dominguez, D., Worch, H., Markard, J., Truffer, B., and Gujer, W. (2009). “Closing the capability gap: Strategic planning for the infrastructure sector.” Calif. Manage. Rev., 51(2), 30–50.
Dore, M. H. I., Kushner, J., and Zumer, K. (2004). “Privatization of water in the UK and France—What can we learn?” Util. Policy, 12(1), 41–50.
Dyner, I., and Larsen, E. R. (2001). “From planning to strategy in the electricity industry.” Energy Policy, 29(13), 1145–1154.
Farla, J., Alkemade, F., and Suurs, R. A. A. (2010). “Analysis of barriers in the transition toward sustainable mobility in the Netherlands.” Technol. Forecasting Soc. Change, 77(8), 1260–1269.
Finger, M., Groenewegen, J., and Künneke, R. (2005). “The quest for coherence between institutions and technologies in infrastructures.” J. Network Ind., 6(4), 227–259.
Flyvberg, B. (2001). Making social science matter: Why social inquiry fails and how it can succeed again, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK.
Foxon, T. J., Hammond, G. P., and Pearson, P. J. G. (2010). “Developing transition pathways for a low carbon electricity system in the UK.” Technol. Forecasting Soc. Change, 77(8), 1203–1213.
Geels, F. W. (2002). “Technological transitions as evolutionary reconfiguration processes: A multilevel perspective and a case-study.” Res. Policy, 31(8–9), 1257–1274.
Geels, F. W. (2005). “Co-evolution of technology and society: The transition in water supply and personal hygiene in the Netherlands (1850–1930)—A case study in multilevel perspective.” Technol. Soc., 27(3), 363–397.
Geels, F. W. (2006). “The hygienic transition from cesspools to sewer systems (1840–1930): The dynamics of regime transformation.” Res. Policy, 35(7), 1069–1082.
Geels, F. W. (2010). “Ontologies, socio-technical transitions (to sustainability), and the multilevel perspective.” Res. Policy, 39(4), 495–510.
Geels, F. W., and Schot, J. (2007). “Typology of socio-technical transition pathways.” Res. Policy, 36(3), 399–417.
Gil, N., and Beckman, S. (2009). “Infrastructure meets business: Building new bridges, mending old ones.” Calif. Manage. Rev., 51(2), 6–29.
Godoe, H. (2000). “Innovation regimes, R&D, and radical innovations in telecommunications.” Res. Policy, 29(9), 1033–1046.
Grigg, N. S. (2001). “Infrastructure systems: Challenges and opportunities for civil engineers.” J. Infrastruct. Syst., 7(4), 131–135.
Guthrie, G. (2006). “Regulating infrastructure: The impact on risk and investment.” J. Econ. Lit., 44, 925–972.
Hadjilambrinos, C. (2000). “Understanding technology choice in electricity industries: A comparative study of France and Denmark.” Energy Policy, 28(15), 1111–1126.
Hoogma, R., Kemp, R., Schot, J., and Truffer, B. (2002). “Experimenting for sustainable transport.” The approach of strategic niche management, Spon Press, London.
Hughes, T. P. (1983). Networks of power: electrification in western society, John Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore, 1880–1930.
Hughes, T. P. (1987). “The evolution of large technological systems.” The social construction of technological systems, W. Bijker, T. P. Hughes and T. Pinch, eds., The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 51–82.
Islas, J. (1999). “The gas turbine: A new technological paradigm in electricity generation.” Technol. Forecasting Soc. Change, 60(2), 129–148.
Jacquier-Roux, V., and Bourgeois, B. (2002). “New networks of technological creation in energy industries: Reassessment of the roles of equipment suppliers and operators.” Technol. Anal. Strategic Manage., 14(4), 399–417.
Jamasb, T., and Pollitt, M. (2005). “Electricity market reform in the European Union: Review of progress toward liberalization and integration.” The Energy Journal, 26.
Joerges, B. (1998). “Large technical systems: Concepts and issues.” The development of large technical systems, R. Mayntz and T. Hughes, eds., Westview Press, Boulder, CO, 9–36.
Jonsson, D. K. (2000). “Sustainable infrasystem synergies: A conceptual framework.” J. Urban Technol., 7(3), 81–104.
Jonsson, D. K. (2005). “The nature of infrasystem services.” J. Infrastruct. Syst., 11(1), 2–8.
Joskow, P. L. (1998). “Electricity sectors in transition.” The Energy Journal, 19(2), 25–52.
Kaijser, A. (2004). “The dynamics of infrasystems. Lessons from history.” Proc., 6th. Int. Summer Academy on Technology Studies, Inter-Univ. Research Centre for Technology, Work, and Culture (IFZ), Graz, Austria.
Kaijser, A. (2005). “Redirceting infrasystems towards sustainability. What can we learn from history?.” Individual and structural determinants of environmental practice, A. Biel, B. Hansson and M. Martensson, eds., Ashgate, Farnham, Surrey, UK, 152–179.
Kemp, R., and Rotmans, J. (2005). “Transition management: Managing the co-evolution of technical, environmental, and social systems.” Towards environmental innovation systems, K. M. Weber and J. Hemmelskamp, eds., Springer, Heidelberg, Germany, 33–55.
Kemp, R., Schot, J., and Hoogma, R. (1998). “Regime shifts to sustainability through processes of niche formation: The approach of strategic niche management.” Technol. Analysis Strategic Manage., 10(2), 175–195.
Kessides, I. N. (2004). Reforming infrastructure—Privatization, regulation, and competition, World Bank Publications, Washington, DC.
Konrad, K., Truffer, B., and Voß, J.-P. (2008). “Multiregime dynamics in the analysis of sectoral transformation potentials–Evidence from German utility sectors.” J. Cleaner Prod., 16(11), 1190–1202.
Künneke, R. W. (1999). “Electricity networks: How “natural” is the monopoly?” Util. Policy, 8(2), 99–108.
Künneke, R., Groenewegen, J., and Menard, C. (2010). “Aligning modes of organization with technology: Critical transactions in the reform of infrastructures.” J. Econ. Behav. Organ., 75(3), 494–505
Kwak, Y. H., Chih, Y., and Ibbs, C. W. (2009). “Towards a comprehensive understanding of public private partnerships for infrastructure development.” Calif. Manage. Rev., 51(2), 51–78.
Larsen, E. R., and Bunn, D. W. (1999). “Deregulation in electricity: Understanding strategic and regulatory risk.” J. Oper. Res. Soc., 50, 337–344.
Larsen, T. A., Alder, A. C., Eggen, R. I. L., Maurer, M., and Lienert, J. (2009). “Source separation: Will we see a paradigm shift in wastewater handling?” Environ. Sci. Technol., 43(16), 6121–6125.
Loorbach, D., Frantzeskaki, N., and Thissen, W. (2010). “Introduction to the special section: Infrastructures and transitions.” Technol. Forecasting Soc. Change, 77(8), 1195–1202.
Malerba, F. (2002). “Sectoral systems of innovation and production.” Res. Policy, 31(2), 247–264.
Markard, J., and Petersen, R. (2009). “The offshore trend: Structural changes in the wind power sector.” Energy Policy, 37(9), 3545–3556.
Markard, J., and Truffer, B. (2006). “Innovation processes in large technical systems: Market liberalization as a driver for radical change?” Res. Policy, 35(5), 609–625.
Markard, J., Truffer, B., and Imboden, D. M. (2004). “The impacts of market liberalization on innovation processes in the electricity sector.” Energ. Environ. Sci., 15(2), 201–214.
Maurer, M., Rothenberger, O., and Larsen, T. A. (2005). “Decentralized wastewater treatment technologies from a national perspective: At what cost are they competitive?” Water Sci. Technol.: Water Supply, 5(6), 145–154.
Nightingale, P., Brady, T., Davies, A., and Hall, J. (2003). “Capacity utilization revisited: Software, control, and the growth of large technical systems.” Ind. Corp. Change, 12(3), 477–517.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (2007). Infrastructure to 2030: Mapping policy for electricity, water and transport., Vol. 2., Paris.
Pavitt, K. (1984). “Sectoral patterns of technical change: Towards a taxonomy and a theory.” Res. Policy, 13(6), 343–373.
Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive advantage, The Free Press, New York.
Raven, R. P. J. M.(2006). “Towards alternative trajectories? Reconfigurations in the Dutch electricity regime.” Res. Policy, 35(4), 581–595.
Raven, R., and Verbong, G. (2007). “Multiregime interactions in the Dutch energy sector. The case of combined heat and power technologies in the Netherlands 1970–2000.” Technol. Anal. Strategic Manage., 19(4), 491–507.
Rennings, K. (2000). “Redefining innovation—Eco-innovation research and the contribution from ecological economics.” Ecol. Econ., 32(2), 319–332.
Rip, A., and Kemp, R. (1998). “Technological change.” Human choice and climate change—Resources and technology, S. Rayner and E. L. Malone, eds., Battelle Press, Columbus, OH, 327–399.
Sioshansi, F. P. (2006a). “Electricity market reform: What has the experience taught us thus far?.” Util. Policy, 14(2), 63–75.
Sioshansi, F. P. (2006b). “Electricity market reform: What have we learned? What have we gained?.” The Electr. J., 19(9), 70–83.
Smith, A., Stirling, A., and Berkhout, F. (2005). “The governance of sustainable socio-technical transitions.” Res. Policy, 34(10), 1491–1510.
Stenzel, T., and Frenzel, A. (2008). “Regulating technological change—The strategic reactions of utility companies towards subsidy policies in the German, Spanish, and UK electricity markets.” Energy Policy, 36(7), 2645–2657.
Teece, D. J. (1998). “Telecommunications in transition: Unbundling, reintegration, and competition.” Strategy, technology, and public policy, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, 643–667.
Unruh, G. C. (2000). “Understanding carbon lock-in.” Energy Policy, 28(12), 817–830.
van der Vleuten, E. (2004). “Infrastructures and societal change. A view from the large technical systems field.” Technol. Anal. Strategic Manage., 16(3), 395–414.
Verbong, G. P. J., and Geels, F. W. (2007). “The ongoing energy transition: Lessons from a socio-technical, multilevel analysis of the Dutch electricity system (1960–2004).” Energy Policy, 35(2), 1025–1037.
von Hirschhausen, C., Beckers, T., and Brenck, A. (2004). “Infrastructure regulation and investment for the long-term—An introduction.” Util. Policy, 12(4), 203–210.
von Weizsäcker, E. U., Young, O. R., Finger, M., and Beisheim, M. (2005). Limits to privatization: How to avoid too much of a good thing—A report to the club of Rome, Earthscan, London.
Walz, R. (2007). “The role of regulation for sustainable infrastructure innovations: The case of wind energy.” Int. J. Public Policy, 2(1–2), 57–88.
Winskel, M. (2002). “When systems are overthrown: The “dash for gas” in the British electricity supply industry.” Social Studies of Science, 32(4), 563–598.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 17 • Issue 3 • September 2011
Pages: 107 - 117
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 5, 2010
Accepted: Mar 10, 2011
Published online: Mar 12, 2011
Published in print: Sep 1, 2011
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.