Case Study 2: Transdisciplinary Case Studies for Sustainable Regional and Organizational Transitions

7/31/2019 Case Study 2: Transdisciplinary Case Studies for Sustainable Regional and Organizational Transitions

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Case 2: transdisciplinary transition

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18.2.2 What is the case about?Te dCS design evolved out o a large MS projetourse (inluding 330 hours student work) as a rame-work or learning applied researh in a transdisi-plinary setting. Te approah is based on what we alluntional soioultural onstrutivism and projet-based learning (Stauaher et al., 2006). Its ideas anbe traed to the beginning o the twentieth enturyand the works o John Dewey, who advoated learn-ing by doing (Dewey, 1910/1997, 1915 & 1902/2001).Te dCS inludes transdisiplinary proesses whihsupport regional or organizational transition proessestowards sustainable development (Sholz et al., 2006).

Te example we hose here is the dCS 2002Future o traditional industries in the canton AppenzellAusserrhoden (Sholz & Stauaher, 2007; Sholz et al.,2003). Te initiative or this dCS 2002 ame rom the

side o the anton, the president o the antons exeu-tive ounil (head o state) in order to better understandoptions o sustainable land use in the anton AppenzellAusserrhoden (AR), as it had been studied beore byus or the GermanSwiss Klettgau valley (Sholz et al.,1999, 1998). Te projet was led jointly by the presidento the anton, Dr. Altherr, and Proessor Sholz, the aa-demi projet diretor, in a o-leadership. Tis repre-sents a spei orm o mutual partiipation; the peoplerom AR helped with understanding the methodo-logial and theoretial questions o sustainability, and

the university team supported the anton AR in prepar-ing or sustainable transitions. Both parties worked onequal ooting, eah with their own interests and goals.

18.2 Case 2: transdisciplinary casestudies or sustainable regional andorganizational transitions2

18.2.1 What can we learn from this case

for environmental literacy?Tis setion links the idea o transdisiplinarity romChapter 15 with the HES Postulates and the rame-work rom Chapters 16 and 17 (see able 18.1). Wereonstrut one o our ormer ase studies along theseven HES Postulates (see Figure 18.5*). We want toshow: (i) how the HES Postulates may support stru-turing and mastering omplex issues at the interaeo dierent disiplines and serve or integrated mod-eling o oupled systems; and to exempliy (ii) howa mutual learning proess among industry, admin-istration, universities, and the publi an be organ-ized as a means o apaity-building. Tese two issuesinorporate both aspets o Part VII, the going beyonddisciplines and beyond sciences. It will beome evidentthat (i) and (ii) are losely interlinked, oupled in ourtransdisiplinary ase study (dCS).

Te dCS is a researh approah or takling om-plex real-world problems in oupled HES rom multipleperspetives initiating learning proesses at individ-ual, group, organizational, and soietal levels. Tus theHierarhy Postulate P2 is not only applied or analysisbut also as a struturing tool or the whole researh pro-ess, in partiular the mutual learning between mem-bers o universities and dierent ators rom soiety.

2 Mihael Stauaher is the lead author o this ase.

Content Case 2

C 2.1 Guiding question and system

boundaries as mutually accepted

rame or the TdCS 474

C 2.2 Complementarities help structuring

complex humanenvironment

interactions (P1) 476C 2.3 Environmental analysis or revealing

the dynamics o the environmental

system (P7) 477

C 2.4 Hierarchy principle (P2) to identiy

dierent levels o the human

system and intererences between

and within these levels (P3) 479

C 2.5 A decision-theoretic conception

or understanding the rationale o

human systems (P5) 480

C 2.6 Improved environmental awareness orunderstanding potential barriers and

drivers in human systems (P6) 480

C 2.7 Understanding eedback loops

in coupled humanenvironment

interactions (P4) or preparing

transormations 481


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18 Applying the HES ramework

C2.1 Guiding question and system boundaries as

mutually accepted rame or the TdCSAfer a rst dCS in the region on landsape develop-ment (Sholz et al., 2002), a joint deision was madeto ous on traditional industries in the region, sinethe anton had been historially shaped by these. Weimplemented the ollowing ore elements in six steps(see able 18.1; see also Box 15.1): (i) dene a guiding

Table 18.1 Six steps in TdCS 2002 Future o traditional industr ies in the canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden and their link to the HESPostulates

Steps (see also Box 15.1) Related HES Postulates

(i) Dene a guiding question Preparing or utilizing the HES ramework

(ii) Facet the case Complementarity Postulate P1

(iii) Perorm system analysis Environment-rst Postulate P7, Hierarchy Postulate P2, IntererencePostulate P3; Feedback Postulate P4

(iv) Construct scenarios usingormative scenario analysis (FSA)

Decision Postulate P5

(v) Perorm multi-criteria analysis(MCA)

Decision Postulate P5; Awareness Postulate P6

(vi) Develop orientations Feedback Postulate P4

question; (ii) aet the ase; (iii) perorm a system ana-

lysis; and (iv) a senario development; (v) ondut amulti-riteria analysis (MCA) by reerring both tosiene-based arguments (MCA I) and by obtainingindividual preerenes rom dierent stakeholdergroups (MCA II); and, nally (vi), disuss the resultsand develop orientations (Sholz et al., 2006; Sholz& ietje, 2002). Overall we wanted to ontribute to a

Figure 18.5 An HES rameworkview on a transdisciplinary process or

sustainable transitions o traditionalindustries. The numbers P1P7 reerto the diferent HES Postulates and arediscussed in detail in previous chapters.Please check as well the call-out boxesor a rst reading.


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Swiss average in 1910 and 2001). AR has been relativelyslow in tertiary setor development (still muh lowerthan in Switzerland) and still has an above-averageproportion o agriulture. Growth o the tertiary se-tor has stagnated in reent years, even delining in themore isolated areas (Eisenhut & Shnholzer, 2003).Around 1880, AR was the most densely settled an-ton in Switzerland. From 1597 to 1794 the populationeven doubled, rom 19 000 to 39 000 inhabitants, peak-ing at 57 973 in 1910 (Witshi, 2002). Te populationdereased to 44 500 in 1941 and slightly inreasedthereafer, until another derease around 1980, whihwas ollowed by a denite growth period. Tis per-manent struggle to maintain the number o inhabit-ants took plae at a time o strong population growth inSwitzerland. By the end o the 1990s, ommunities at alarge distane rom the national tra inrastrutureand the bigger ities suered rom dereasing popula-

tion, dereasing labor opportunities, and thus dereas-ing wealth. Landsape was and still is the main apitalo the anton, or agriulture and tourism but also orhousing (Sholz & Stauaher, 2002).

Guiding question

What are the prerequisites or a sustainable regional

economy meeting environmental and socioeconomic

needs?

sustainable transition o dierent industries thosejointly hosen were the timber, dairy, and textileindustries.

Transdisciplinarity

A transdisciplinary project between region and uni-

versity is set up with co-leadership and collaboration

on equal ooting.

We dened the problem and the guiding ques-tion in a round o intense disussions with a steer-ing group. Tis group was strongly involved duringthe entire projet, dening the projet rameworkand ontinuously evaluating the projet quality(Sholz et al., 2006). It was here that ollaborationin the projet was established and a substantial parto the mutual learning between siene and pratie

took plae. Te steering group was omposed o theollowing stakeholders (key agents; see Sholz &ietje, 2002): head o oe or the promotion o theeonomy, two heads o administration (agriulture/orestry, environmental protetion), the antonalhistorian/arhivist, one armer/mayor o a ommu-nity, mayor o another ommunity, one independentexpert or tourism and landsape, and three inde-pendent experts or regional planning/development.Furthermore, the projet team o EH Zurih par-tiipated (our senior researhers). Tus, dierentepistemis were at play in this group and varying per-spetives had to be reoniled in the proess. Somepreliminary media analysis, in-depth interviews withkey people rom the region, and rst experientialase enounters (Sholz & ietje, 2002, pp. 2416)urthered our understanding o the ase and helpedus jointly to dene the problem, whih we will brieysketh in the ollowing paragraph.

Appenzell Ausserrhoden (AR) is a anton (i.e. asmall state) o 20 ommunities with 53 500 inhabitantson 242 km2 o land that lies between 435 and 2500 mabove sea level. AR is loated in the viinity o the ityo St. Gallen in the Greater Zurih Area (6090 min-utes traveling distane to downtown Zurih; see Figure18.6). During the eighteenth entury, prodution andsales o textiles dominated eonomi lie (anner,1982; Witshi, 2002). At the same time, 56% o the totalland area o AR was agriultural, with the vast majority(98%) being utilized or dairy arming. Forests overed29.6% o the land. AR industrialized rather early, andindustries still play an important role (the proportion opeople working in the seondary setor was above the

Figure 18.6 Location o Appenzell Ausserrhoden (AR) in the semi-urban and urban areas o St. Gallen, near the Greater Zurich Area.Dark and light gray areas are agglomeration regions according tothe denition used by the Swiss Federal Statistical Oce; light grayareas were designated as agglomeration regions between 1990and 2000 (Scholz & Staufacher, 2007, p. 2522).


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in a rural area, it was learned that the anton in atextends to the ringes o a ity and that industrial sitesare thus sometimes in onit with well situated hous-ing areas. On the other hand, people rom pratie wererst more onerned about nding alternative indus-tries and only slowly started to realize that traditional

industries might still have a uture in the region.Further, it is worth mentioning that the sienti

disiplines that oered relevant knowledge or tak-ling the guiding question were not in the environmen-tal (soial) sienes but rather ame rom (eonomi)geography, industrial and regional eonomis, businessand management sienes, and regional and eonomidevelopment disiplines. Tis variety o dierent dis-iplines and the need to integrate suh knowledge isnot surprising given the approah ollowed in our asestudy. In at, we turn siene on its head (German: Die

Wissenshaf vom Kop au die Fsse stellen).Sine we start (quite radially) rom the ase anddevelop together with ase ators relevant questions,identiying the disiplines that are in position to taklethese questions is hene only a subsequent step. Tisbrings some serious diulties or siene: one hasto be very broad in ones knowledge and be exible inamiliarizing onesel with new disiplinary approahes.O ourse, this annot be done by one researh groupalone; thus, we had to integrate urther expertise byontating olleagues rom other institutes (e.g. agri-

ultural eonomis, regional eonomis, orest si-enes, textile industry engineering).o nalize this preparatory step, we then inormed

the greater publi about the ase study and its guidingquestion and aims with the help o the media.

C2.2 Complementarities help structuring complex

humanenvironment interactions (P1)

Both the humanenvironment and the materialbiophysial vs. soio-epistemi omplementaritiesbeome evident when looking at traditional indus-tries (see able 18.2). aking the example o the textileindustry, one an distinguish between the individualfrm and its workers as the human system o a ompany(i.e. organization; see Figure 14.1*) and the equipmentand mahinery as a spei ompany-owned materialenvironment (Em). Te role and signiane a textileompany has or eleted politiians and inhabitants oAR anton is part o the soial environment o a om-pany (see Figure 3.3*).

Te ommitment o many loal rm managers tostay in the AR anton is partly due to the at that many

Te jointly developed and nally agreed uponguiding question reads: What are the prerequisitesor a regional eonomy that an sustainably oper-ate in harmony with the environment and regionalsoioeonomi needs? More speially, we wantedto study whih options exist with respet to regional

ooperation and business strategies within traditionalindustries and whih o these options are preerred bykey stakeholders. Tus, our primary interest ousedon sustainable eonomi development, in partiularmaintaining employment and supporting the lusterso older industries, as these had been aeted by rapidhange and deline.

Te system boundaries have been set at the an-tonal level beause industrial poliy in Switzerland isstill deentralized and managed at the regional level (asis also the ase in some other ountries, suh as Austria;

see Sturn, 2000). Sawmills, the dairy industry, and thetextile industry were hosen beause they belong toa business setor that grew in the age o agriulturalmanuaturing (Phelps & Ozawa, 2003), and whihis under strong innovation onstraints worldwide.Further, all these industries have played a deisive rolein the history o AR. All three so-alled traditionalindustries are urrently experiening a rapid proesso onsolidation and transition beause o ubiquitousglobalized produt and material ows.

Tese traditional industries exhibit both ommon-

alities and dierenes. Whereas the textile and, to someextent, the sawmill industries ompete in the worldmarket, dairy produts are predominantly traded ona regional or ontinental level. Furthermore, thesethree industries allow or investigation o dierentontexts with respet to horizontal and vertial om-petition and ollaboration. Companies rom the textileindustry over several vertial stages o the produtionhain. Sawmills and dairies only over the rst trans-ormation stage, between raw materials and industrialproessing. Tus, we are dealing with horizontal om-petition in those ases.

System defnition

A view rom multiple stakeholder groups and dis-

ciplines identied traditional industries and their

modes o cooperation as the key system boundary on

the human systems side.

In this initial projet phase, intense learning by allinvolved ould be observed. While, or example, thoserom siene started with the image o the anton being


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system (E H). But there is also a soial environment.Tis is the existing luster o lothing ompanies in theneighboring anton o St. Gallen as a potential buyero the produts o textile industry and subsistenearmers who have run out o land to ultivate ating as

a labor pool or the textile industry. Te latter alreadyexemplies a oupled humanenvironment system(E H). When a given environment is exploited,other human ativities beome neessary whih them-selves have again a new and possibly dierent impaton the environment. Last but not least, industries do oourse have diret impats on dierent environmentalsystems (H E). We will disuss this urther in the se-tion on the Feedbak Postulate P4 below.

C2.3 Environmental analysis or revealing the

dynamics o the environmental system (P7)

C2.3.1 Material and social environments

A thorough environmental analysis should ollow thedenition o the guiding question and system bound-aries. In this regional eonomi study, the owners,managers, and the workers o seleted ompanies inthree industries (textile, dairy, and sawmills) buildthe ore human system (see able 18.2). Te materialenvironment inludes the prodution ailities o theseompanies, the raw materials needed or prodution,

produts, emissions to the environment resulting romproesses, retailers, and market ompetitors outside theanton, et.

In the dCS 2002, we undertook several studiesthat allowed a better understanding o the environ-mental system in this broader sense. We ondutedstrutured interviews with the owners and CEOs oaround 20 ompanies, overing many topis inludingondential nanial (e.g. annual turnover) and envir-onmental data (e.g. energy use and related impats).

ome rom amilies that had owned the ompany ormore than 100 years. Further, the environment (E) othe textile industry enompasses (i) the natural sys-tems the industry has an impat on (water, soil/landuse, air (Em)) and (ii) the horizontal/vertial ooper-

ation within or aross the prodution hain with othermarket ators (Es). In at, historial rights or waterutilization and hydroeletri plants (Em) still play adeisive role or some ompanies that require exten-sive onsumption o natural resoures, suh as textilenishing. For survival, a ompany must also networkwith the unions (as a type o non-governmental organ-ization) or the antonal environmental agenies (i.e.institutions). Tis niely illustrates the broader andspei use o the terms human system and environ-mentollowed in this book.

Complementarity Postulate P1

The activities o owners, managers, and workers o a

textile rm constitute a companyas a human system

on the level oorganization. The company owns, uti-

lizes or aects parts o the material environment (pro-

duction acilities, water, land, products, etc.). The action

o the company(e.g. producing, buying, and selling) is

embedded in a network o actors. The products pro-

duced, bought, and sold are part o a production chain

which is part o the material environment.

Te dierent relationships between human andenvironment systems an again be illuminated by ourdCS: traditional industries are settled in the antono AR beause o the availability o natural (i.e. mater-ial) resoures suh as water as the energy soure orthe textile industry and sawmills; water or the tex-tile industry to wash material; orests as wood supplyor sawmills; pastures oering ood or ows in thedairy industry. Tis is the impat o the materialbiophysial environment on the ompany as a human

Table 18.2 Basic complementarities in the TdCS 2002 Future o traditional industries in the canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden (see Table 3.1)

Human systems(H) Environmental systems(E)

Material (biophysical

technological)

dimension

The living bodies (cells) and the physical

activities o the owners, managers, and

workers o the rms rom selected

industries Hm

Water, soil, air, production acilities, raw

materials, products, the physical state o

buyers, market competitors Em

Social (epistemic

cultural) dimension

The knowledge and capabilities o the rm

owners, managers, and workers such as business

strategies, technology knowledge, aliation to

other market actors Hs

Horizontal/vertical interaction

(networking) with actors o the supply

chain (e.g. retailers, consumers, the image

o the branch or key actors) Es


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Te system analysis part o FSA results in a semi-quan-titative system model, whih is omposed o all impatvariables required to desribe the urrent and uturestates o the ase and their mutual interations su-iently. Diret impats between all variables were are-ully assessed using an impat matrix, and the resultswere presented graphially (system grid, system graphsee Sholz & ietje (2002)).

Te variety o disiplinary oi beomes evidentagain. Besides those mentioned previously (e.g. eo-nomi geography and industrial eonomis), industrialeology and environmental natural siene-relatedquestions beame more prominent with respet toenvironmental impats. Further, knowledge o psyh-ology and deision sienes had to be integrated tounderstand the soial dimension.

C2.3.2 Organizing transdisciplinary processes

For eah o the three industries, we established a re-erene group to disuss the projet work regularly. Inontrast to the steering group, we wanted to ooper-ate with broader segments o the publi therein. o this

Te interviews served to identiy the main environ-mental onerns and impats o the rms. Results othese interviews served as input or: (i) investigatingthe materialbiophysial environment with materialow analysis (MFA, exemplarily presented or the dairyindustry in Figure 18.7) and added value analyses alongthe prodution hain as well as analysis o environmen-tal impats (water, air, soil, energy use, i.e. Em); and (ii)understanding the soialultural environment byinvestigating the present orm o ollaboration withineah o the three industries and between these indus-tries and administration, politis, and siene (Es).

Environment-frst Postulate P7

Material ux analysis, ormative scenario analysis,

and added value analyses; analysis o environmental

impacts and o the social environment were essential

methods to understand the case.

In addition, results rom a ormative senarioanalysis (FSA; Sholz & ietje, 2002; see Chapter 14.3;Wiek et al., 2007) helped us to integrate knowledge.

Figure 18.7 Example o material ux analysis in the TdCS 2002: milk uxes o the production chain in the year 2001 (Scholz et al., 2003,p. 190). O all the milk produced in AR, approximately 42% is processed in the canton. More than hal o the milk goes to dairies outside thecanton.


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It is on this level that most o the essential businessdeisions are taken (see Deision Postulate P5 below).Further, we realized ollaboration with the Swissextile Assoiation, labor unions, and other organiza-tions at the national level as well. Likewise, we took intoaount the multilevel politial system in Switzerland

and the (inter)national integration o these industriessine Swiss regulations and international treaties (butalso national and international ooperation) are ritialboundary onditions or industry in the canton AR.

At the group and individual levels, a multitude oindividuals were involved. Moreover, representativesrom all the above-mentioned representatives o thehigher system levels are, at the same time, individuals(see the disussion on intererene (P3) below).Additionally, surveys (with approximately 200 resp-ondents) and more than 50 individual ae-to-ae

interviews allowed the investigation o the individualpereptions o the issue and thus o the so-alled publi.At the group level, the above-mentioned steering groupand reerene groups served as examples o where opin-ions were ormed and group eets ould be observed.

A ritial issue o HES analysis is that people antake dierent roles. One and the same person an takethe role o a worker, mother or president o the nationalsports assoiation. Assigning and eliiting the speirole ailitates the analysis o the human system andonits among the hierarhy levels.

C2.4.2 What conicts and intererences?

Intererence Postulate P3

Potential conicts exist within hierarchy (between

rms) and between hierarchy levels (e.g. between rms

and cantonal ofces).

With respet to intererenes, we an theoretially dis-tinguish trade-os and onits o human systemswithin hierarhy levels rom onits between hier-arhy levels. Further, we should note that a multilevelonit may also our in one and the same person.For both intererenes, we would like to mention someinsights gained in the dCS 2002. A lassial inter-erene between hierarhy levels was visible rom thebeginning: the promoter o eonomi development orcanton AR (institution), pereiving the anton as mod-ern, primarily supported modern industries suhas inormation tehnology and biotehnology, whilemore traditional industries (organization) were mostlynegleted, leading to an interesting politial lok-in

end, an extended range o dierent people were involved,suh as armers, teahers, a hotel-keeper, housewives, amedial pratitioner, a bank manager, arhitets, plan-ners, oresters, and a pastor. For the system analysis,these reerene groups oered their detailed qualita-tive insights into the omponents and untions o the

system and allowed us a better understanding o thesystems untioning. Subsequent results were ed bakand disussed with the reerene groups.

Overall, the system analysis not only integratedknowledge rom dierent sienti soures (beyonddisiplines) but also rom aademia and pratie(beyond siene). Tereby, the understanding o thease and its problems with respet to the three indus-tries was seriously extended, substantiated, and harmo-nized as well. Te system analysis urther helped us indeteting and disussing eedbak loops (see below).

C2.4 Hierarchy principle (P2) to identiy diferent

levels o the human system and intererences

between and within these levels (P3)

C2.4.1 What hierarchy levels

Hierarchy Postulate P2

Assigning all people involved in the study to their hier-

archy level helped in understanding the inuence they

have and acilitated dening their roles.

As mentioned above, industrial poliy in Switzerlandis managed at the antonal level. Te canton AR is asmall state, semi-autonomous with its own onsti-tution, politial system, and has administrative andbudgetary independene on many issues. Tus, ARan be onsidered as a soiety (as a level o human sys-tem) whih is represented by the government, whihis a legitimized deision-maker (see Chapter 15). Tislevel was inluded in the dCS 2002 as the president oanton was an ative o-leader o the projet. Tus theorientations and outomes elaborated in the transdis-iplinary proess, whih should provide soially robustsolutions, had a good hane o being heard. Furtherdown the hierarhial levels, we ollaborated with sev-eral institutions, like the antonal oes o agriulture,orestry and o environmental protetion and the an-tonal promoter o the eonomy.

At the organizational level, more than 20 individ-ual rms rom textile, milk, and sawmill industries par-tiipated, eah represented by their owners or CEOs.


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hoose between more/less ooperation outside the pro-dution hain with, or instane, antonal administra-tion or researh institutions/universities (strategies).Tese dierent possibilities needed to be investigatedmore thoroughly and analytially. We used the areadevelopment negotiation (ADN) method, whih

inludes FSA (Sholz & ietje, 2002). Te way in whihthis is done is desribed in Box 15.1, able iiiv. Basedon a thorough system (see P7 above) and onsistenyanalysis (Sholz & ietje, 2002, p. 105; ietje, 2005), aew senarios were jointly seleted with all key agents.Tese senarios represent dierent ontrasting strat-egies. For example, or textile industry these werethe ollowing business strategies: minimal ooper-ation (rms remain eonomially independent);resoure sharing (joint utilization and management oresoures); AR textile network (rms remain autono-

mous but use a regional label ollowing similar qualitystandards); ull integration (all rms join a holding ormerge into a single large ompany).

o assess utilities or all strategies, we appliedan adapted stakeholder-based multi-riteria ana-lysis (MCA) using six evaluation riteria (see Box15.1, able 15.3, vi; MDaniels & rousdale, 2005;Sholz & Stauaher, 2007). We applied two dierentapproahes o MCA: (i) a data-based evaluation rely-ing on literature studies and expert interviews (MCAI); and (ii) a stakeholder-based evaluation inluding

the representatives o industry, antonal authorities,and sustainability researhers as groups. Te stake-holder-based evaluations were made in two steps,the rst being overall and intuitive, and the seondusing the riteria rom the MCA I to provide an MCAII. It was also possible to ompare utilities betweendierent players and dierent assessment methods(e.g. between intuitive and riteria-based evaluation,between antonal authorities and industry, betweenthe view o antonal authorities vs. industry vs. thesustainability researhers). Tus, it was possible tomap a spetrum o diverse views and alternatives asa omponent o apaity-building but at the sametime to detet potentials or reahing onsensus (vanAsselt & Rijkens-Klomp, 2002).

C2.6 Improved environmental awareness or

understanding potential barriers and drivers in

human systems (P6)

Being aware o ones environment is a neessaryondition or oping with it. In addition, a proper

(Hassink & Shin, 2005). Te value o traditional indus-tries beame apparent or this institution only aferhaving partiipated in the dCS. At the institutionallevel, or example, when individual CEOs negotiatedwith heads o the antonal government and adminis-tration, they sought benets or their own rms, whih

at times lashed with the interests o the industry as awhole. Tis was a onit within a hierarhy level butwas probably driven by a multilevel onit within thesame person.

A urther onit within hierarhy levels beamevisible between dierent antonal institutions when,or example, an inreased use o loal wood was pro-moted by the oe or agriulture and orestry whileat the same time the oe or the environment insistedon proteting natural resoures. Te latter oe was,o ourse, requently in onit with industry (i.e.

onits between hierarhy levels). Also interestingwas the pratially non-existent intererene withinthe organizational level aross dierent industries (seebelow Awareness Postulate P6).

C2.5 A decision-theoretic conception or under-

standing the rationale o human systems (P5)

Following a deision-theoreti oneption, we have todistinguish betweenplayers, or agents, their strategies(or the ombination o strategies o all players, i.e. theoutome), and utilities.

With respet to the guiding question on options orregional ooperation and their pereption, we distin-guished the ollowing key agents in the dCS 2002: rmsat dierent positions in the prodution hain as thedeision-makers and stakeholder group (e.g. sawmills

vs. wood proessing vs. orestry; dairy managers vs.dairy traders) and antonal authorities, both rom gov-ernment (soiety) and administration (institution),providing the neessary ramework onditions. Also,the representatives o university working on sustain-ability may be viewed as representatives o soiety (seeFigure 1.7*). EH Zurih is a ederal shool whih isontrolled and naned by the national government.

Decision Postulate P5

Individual rms (players) can choose between dier-

ent options or collaboration (strategies), which are di-

erently preerred by various key players (utilities).

In priniple, all rms an hoose between (i) moreor less ooperation either (ii) horizontally or vertiallyalong the prodution hain, and (iii) they an urther


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all partiipants. As suh, the dCS oers an example ohow transdisiplinarity an be a tool or apaity-build-ing through improving environmental awareness. Tisould be seen by many examples. In the textile industry,the senario o ull integration was intuitively dislikedby all respondents. It aused emotional resistane and

ontrasting traditional patterns o ompetition. Tisnegative attitude was reversed in the riteria-basedevaluation (MCA II). Here the ull integration senariois the most preerred. Tis multi-riteria-based, analyti

judgment an be taken as an indiation or a developinghanged environmental awareness.

Missing environmental awareness ofen originatesin ognitive lok-ins (Grabher, 1993; Hassink & Shin,2005; Maskell & Malmberg, 1999). A thorough quan-titative analysis 2 years afer the dCS, inluding 88stakeholders, revealed that besides apaity-build-

ing ooperation and networking were the key benetso the transdisiplinary proess (Walter et al., 2007b).

C2.7 Understanding eedback loops in cou-

pled humanenvironment interactions (P4) or

preparing transormations

Feedbak loops were not a diret ous o this dCSbut were investigated in the system analysis part (seeEnvironment-rst Postulate P7 above) when impatsamong dierent ators were assessed. FSA as a method

o systems analysis inludes tools to identiy multipleeedbak loops among the impat ators, whih pro-vides a better insight into the importane o dierentvariables.

Feedback Postulate P4

In the TdCS, university, rms, and the canton learned

how to cope with eedback loops in human and envir-

onmental systems.

Further, the whole dCS atually serves as a toolto learn about eedbak loops. Reognizing that notonly individuals, but also groups, organizations, andinstitutions learn (bara & Pahl-Wostl, 2007), a soi-etal sustainability learning proess was the ous. Te

very proess o assessing the present situation anddeveloping uture senarios, as well as their detailedevaluation, an stimulate learning among all partii-pants o the dCS (eedbak loop in human system).ransdisiplinary proesses empower and motiv-ate stakeholders to ontribute more atively in sub-sequent implementation o ideas and hange uture

awareness has to be developed also or the soialenvironment (see P6aP6 in Figure 18.5). However,in the beginning this prerequisite was not met bymany o the rms involved in the dCS (non-aware-ness o environmental systems both the materialtehnologial and the soialepistemi). We ofen

enountered a situation where other rms (whih arepart o the soial environment Es) were primarily oreven exlusively seen as market ompetitors, and thepotential o ooperating in lusters (see Capello &Faggian, 2005; orre & Gilly, 2000) was not properlyseen. Tis is not surprising i one reers to the dier-entiation between ooperation and learning dynam-is in horizontal and vertial lusters (Malmberg &Maskell, 2002; Newlands, 2003).

Awareness Postulate P6

Other rms are oten perceived only as competitors(restricted awareness o social environment). The

potential market benets were not explicitely per-

ceived and assessed.

C2.6.1 Dierent benefts rom cooperation andcompetitions in clusters

Te sawmills and dairies that were investigated wereinvolved in the rst transormation stage between rawmaterials and industrial proessing. Tus, we were deal-ing with horizontal lustering where, obviously, om-petition is muh more prevalent. None the less, most othe soial environment is the same or all rms (e.g. seethe onits between hierarhy levels with the antonalinstitutional and the soietal level; Hierarhy PostulateP2 above) and beoming aware o this was one o the out-omes in the proess. On the other hand, the lusteringo the textile industry involved the vertial stages o theprodution hain. Hene, ollaboration ould be morestraightorward. Yet, a lak o trust existed among theamily dynasty-based ompanies, who have been ompet-itors or some time, and this has prevented more intenseorms o ollaboration in the previous deades just asertainly as has a lak o environmental awareness.

Awareness o impacts on the social environment causedby ones behaviorhas ertainly grown among loal par-tiipants throughout the study. Tis is related to han-ging seondary eedbak (see Feedbak Postulate P4).Joint dependene on natural resoures (Em), as well asthe neessity or ollaboration with other rms (Es),beame evident in the study and were aknowledged by


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deision proesses (Brown et al., 2001; Sheppard &Meitner, 2005). Te latter an atually lead to aeedbak loop between human and environmentalsystems.

C2.7.1 Key messagesTe transdisiplinary ase study (dCS) at EHZurih was developed to support regional andorganizational transition proesses towards sus-tainable development

Te dCS is oneptualized as a mutual learningproess among siene and pratie. Te studyprovided inremental deepening o insights abouteedbak loops when ooperating with the soialenvironment (market ompetitors). Tis an beoneived as extending environmental awareness.

Te HES Postulates and the dCS design withits six steps help in struturing transdisiplinaryproesses

Te dCS starts (quite radially) rom the ase indeveloping together with ase ators relevant ques-tions; identiying the disiplines to takle thesequestions is hene only a subsequent step. Tus theEnvironment-rst Postulate P7 is essential. Tisasks or knowledge rom multiple disiplines oranalysis o the human and environmental systemsinvolved. Tus, sientists in dCS need a broad dis-

iplinary bakground to organize disiplined inter-disiplinarity in transdisiplinary proesses

Te rationale o the human system an be betterunderstood using a deision-theoreti oneption

distinguishing between ators (players), their strat-egies, and respetive utilities. Various disiplines,suh as psyhology and eonomis, help to identiypotential drivers and rationales at work in transi-tion proesses.

18.3 Case 3: agro-uel3

18.3.1 What can we learn from this casefor environmental literacyWe elaborate what (possible) benets and unwantednegative impats would result i the option agrouelwas taken by many ountries. Using the HES rame-work (Figure 18.8) we reveal some unsustainabledynamis that were not satisatorily aknowledged bysiene and soiety.

18.3.2 What is the case about?Inreased onern about peak oil, energy seurity,and limate hange has aused many ountries toexplore renewable energy alternatives to ossil uel.In some ountries, biouel has beome a avoriteoption or substituting oil as vehile uel. Bioethanolis onsidered as renewable energy as it reeives itsenergy rom the Sun and is (allaiously as we show)supposed to be innitely produible. As we elaborate

below, in February 2006 the government o Swedendeided to beome an oil-ree soiety until 2020 andto subsidize E85 strongly; that is, 85% ethanol uelor private ars.

3 Roland W. Sholz is the lead author o this ase, whihhas been written in late 2008.

Content Case 3

C 3.1 Dening the guiding

question: Swedens decision on

bioethanol, a sustainable one? 483

C 3.2 A national perspective on human

systems 484

C 3.3 Why an environmental analysis

should come rst (P7) 485

C 3.4 Awareness o essential, critical

eedback loops (P4 & P6) 491

C 3.5 Intererences rom eedbacked

multi-actor decisions (P3) 491

C 3.6 Conficting variants o

environmental awareness with

respect to biomass ecosystem

unctions (P6) 492

C 3.7 Incomplete hierarchy: the

missing supranational systems

(P2) 494

Documents

Case Study 2: Transdisciplinary Case Studies for Sustainable Regional and Organizational Transitions