The relational sociology of eco-innovation

Authors

  • Martin David Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH - UFZ
  • Henriette Rutjes Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH - UFZ
  • Alena Bleicher Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH - UFZ

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2019.28

Keywords:

eco-innovation, value, knowledge, figurational sociology

Abstract

While sociology often adopts a firm’s capacity perspective when looking at innovation, this article intends to provide a relational perspective on innovation stemming from the relational sociology of Norbert Elias. Taking the example of a German scrap metal recycling network, understood here as an eco-innovation, the article strives to conceptually re-embed innovation in socio-historical contexts. This re-embedding also includes examining the role of values during innovation-creating processes, which is treated with great ambiguity in the eco-innovation literature. Despite showing that ecologic values play a minor role in the eco-innovation process, the article points to that the eco-innovation is deeply related to complex historical developments which comprise scientific knowledge creation.

Author Biographies

Martin David , Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH - UFZ

Martin David is researcher at the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research and works within the research group “GORmin-Governance options for acceptable primary and secondary Scarce-Resource mining in Germany”. Martin did his doctoral studies Norbert Elias Center for Transformation Design & Research (NEC) at the University
of Flensburg and deals with questions of innovation,
exnovation, and rare material governance.

Henriette Rutjes , Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH - UFZ

Henriette Rutjes is a doctoral student at the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research and works within the research group “GORmin-Governance options for acceptable primary and secondary Scarce-Resource mining in Germany”. She studied sociology at the University of Potsdam, Freie Universität Berlin, the University of Copenhagen, and the University of Leipzig. Her research focusses on framing of environmental issues like recycling.

Alena Bleicher , Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH - UFZ

Alena Bleicher is researcher at the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research and leads the research group “GORmin-Governance options for acceptable primary and secondary Scarce-Resource mining in Germany”. Her research focuses on strategies of dealing with non-knowledge in environmental management and technology development as well as on the role of publics in such processes.

References

Andersen, M. M. (2008). Eco-innovation towards a taxonomy and a theory. 25th Celebration DRUID Conference.

Baur, N., Ernst, S. (2011). Towards a process-orient- ed methodology: modern social science research methods and Norbert Elias’s figurational sociol- ogy. The Sociological Review, 59(1), 117-139.

Bemmann, M. (2012). Beschädigte Vegetation und sterbender Wald: Zur Entstehung eines Umweltproblems in Deutschland 1893-1970. Vol. 5. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Brianta, D. (2000). Education and Training in the Mining Industry, 1750-1860: European models and the Italian Case. Annals of Science, 57(3), 267-300.

Bridge, G. (2004). Contested Terrain: Mining and the Environment. Annual Review of Environ- ment and Resources, 29, 205-259.

BUND - Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutsch- land e.V. (2011). 30 Jahre BUND-Kreisgruppe Goslar. BUNDinfo Kreisgruppe Goslar. Vol. 17.

BUND (2017a). Bodenschutz im Landkreis Goslar-Sachstand und Forderungen (online). http://www.bundwestharz.de/themen/bodenschutz_ im_landkreis_goslar/, access 29.08.2017.

BUND (2017b). Die Deponien in der Grube Morgen- stern zwischen Goslar Hahndorf, Liebenburg und Vienenburg - einer der größten Harzer Um weltskandale (online). http://www.bundwestharz.de/themen/grube_morgenstern/, access 20.08.2017.

Claus, Henn. B., Ettinger, A. S., Hopkins, M. R., Jim, R., Amarasiriwardena, C., Christiani,

D. C., Coull, B. A., Bellinger, D. C., Wright, R. O. (2016). Prenatal Arsenic Exposure and Birth Outcomes among a Population Residing near a Mining-Related Superfund Site. Environmental Health Perspective.

Cooke, P. (2012). Transversality and transition: Green innovation and new regional path creation. European planning studies, 20.5, 817-834.

CUTEC (2017). The CUTEC institute (online). https://www.cutec.de/en/, access 29.08.2017.

CUTEC (2018). CUTEC (online). https://www.cutec. de/de/, access 05.07.2018.

Dahlin, E. C. (2014). The Sociology of Innovation: Organizational, Environmental, and Relative Perspectives, Sociology Compass, 8(6), 671-687.

David, M (2016). Bürger-Energiewende: Wissen durch Handeln? Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft.

Deicke, M., Ruppert, H. (2013). Bergbau- und Um- weltgeschichte des Oberharzes. Jahresberichte und Mitteilungen des Oberrheinischen Geologi- schen Vereins, Vol. 95, 259-288.

Dopson, S. (2005). The diffusion of medical innovations: can figurational sociology contribute? Organization Studies, 26.8, 1125-1144.

Down, C. G., Stocks, J. (1977). Environmental Im- pact of Mining. New York: Wiley.

Dunne, S. (2009). The politics of figurational sociology. The Sociological Review, 57.1, 28-57.

Dunning, E., Hughes, J. (2012). Norbert Elias and modern sociology: Knowledge, interdepen- dence, power, process. London: A&C Black.

Duwe, C. (2015). REWIMET - das Recycling-Cluster wirtschaftsstrategischer Metalle. Akademie für Geowissenschaften und Geotechnologien Veröf- fentlichungen, 31, 65-71.

Eco-Innovation Action Plan - EcoAP (2011). Euro- pean Commission, Newsletter 23, December.

EIO (2011). The Eco-Innovation Challenge: Path- ways to a resource-efficient Europe. Eco-Innovation Observatory. Brussels: DG Environment. Elias, N. (1956). Problems of involvement and detachment. The British Journal of Sociology, 7.3,226-252.

Elias, N. (1969). The Civilizing Process, Vol. I. The History of Manners. Oxford: Blackwell.

Elias, N. (1974). Towards a Theory of Communities. En C. Bell, H. Newby (eds.), The Sociology of Community: A Selection of Readings (pp. ix- xvi). London: Frank Cass and Co. Ltd.

Elias, N. (1982). The Civilizing Process, Vol. II. State Formation and Civilization. Oxford: Blackwell.

Elias, N. (1983). The Court Society. New York: Pantheon.

Elias, N., Scotson, J. L. (1965). The Established and the Outsiders, A Sociological Enquiry into Community Problems. London: Frank Cass and Co. Ltd.

Frerichs, M. (2014). Innovationsprozesse und organisationaler Wandel in der Automobilindustrie: Eine prozesssoziologische Analyse betrieblicher Machtproben. Vol. 10. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

Gabriel, N., Mennell, S. (2011). Handing over the torch: intergenerational processes in figura- tional sociology. The Sociological Review, 59.1, 5-23.

Glaser, B., Strauss, A. (1998). Grounded Theory. Strategien qualitativer Forschung. Bern: Hans Huber Verlag.

Goldmann, D. (2016). Transdiziplinäre Forschung und breite Verbünde aus Industrie und Forschungs- einrichtungen als Antwort auf neue Herausfor- derungen. Akademie für Geowissenschaften und Geotechnologien Veröffentlichungen, 31, 55-58.

Goldmann, D., Kruckow, T., Westphal, R. (2012). Der Recycling-Cluster wirtschaftsstrategische Me- talle REWIMET e.V. En K. J. Thomé-Kozmiensky,

D. Goldmann (eds.), Recycling und Rohstoffe (pp. 281-290). Nietwerder-Neuruppin: TK Ver- lag Karl Thomé-Kosmiensky.

Goudsblom, J. (1977). Sociology in the Balance, A Critical Essay. Columbia University Press.

Gouthro, M. B., Palmer, C. (2010). Pilgrimage in Heritage Tourism: Finding meaning and identity in the industrial past. En M. V. Conlin, L. Jolliffe (eds.), Mining heritage and tourism: A global synthesis (pp. 33-43). London: Routledge.

Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American journal of sociology, 78.6, 1360-1380. Granovetter, M. S. (1983). The strength of weak ties: A network theory revisited. Sociological theory, 201-233.

Hime, N., Cowie, C., Marks, G., (2015). Review of the health impacts of emission sources, types and levels of particulate matter air pollution in ambient air in NSW. Report, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Centre for Air Quality and Health Research and Evaluation (CAR). Sydney: Australia.

Hojnik, J., Ruzzier, M. (2016). What drives eco-in- novation? A review of an emerging literature. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 19, 31-41.

IFAD (2017): Über uns. Rohstoffaufbereitung und Recycling (online). https://www.ifa.tu-claust- hal.de/lehrstuehle/lehrstuhl-fuer-rohstoffauf- bereitung-und-recycling/ueber-uns/, access 12.08.2017.

Jayawarna, D., Holt, R. (2009). Knowledge and quality management: An R&D perspective. Techno- vation, 29(11), 775-785.

Karakaya, E., Hidalgo, A., Nuur, C. (2014). Diffusion of eco-innovations: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 33, 392-399.

Kaspersen, L. B., Gabriel, N. (2008). The importance of survival units for Norbert Elias’s figurational perspective. The Sociological Review, 56(3), 370-387.

Kemp, R., Pearson, P. (2007). Final report MEI project about measuring eco-innovation. UM Merit, Maastricht.

Kempter, H., Frenzel, B. (2000). The impact of early mining and smelting on the local tropospheric aerosol detected in ombrotrophic peat bogs in the Harz, Germany. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 121.1, 93-108.

Klein, U. (2012). Savant Officials in the Prussian Mining Administration. Annals of Science, 69(3), 349-374.

Klewitz, J., Zeyen, A., Hansen, E. G. (2012). Intermediaries driving eco-innovation in SMEs: a qualitative investigation. European Journal of Innovation Management, 15.4, 442-467.

Knolle, F. (2009). Bergbauinduzierte Schwerme- tallkontaminationen und Bodenplanung in der Harzregion. En C. Breitkreuz, C. Drebenstedt (eds.), Sustainable mining and environment: a German-Latin American perspective (pp. 79- 84). Vol. 523. Technische Universität Bergaka- demie Freiburg.

Knolle, F., Knolle, F. (1983). Vogel-und Säugetierver- luste durch Umweltbelastungen im Gebiet des Harzes. Vogelkundliche Berichte aus Nieder- sachsen, 15.2, 47-49.

Konečný, P. (2012). The Hybrid Expert in the “Berg- staat”: Anton von Ruprecht as a Professor of Chemistry and Mining and as a Mining Of- ficial, 1779-1814. Annals of Science, 69(3),335-347.

Lange, M. (2013). Comparative Historical Methods. SAGE Publications.

Levidow, L. et al. (2016). Process eco-innovation: assessing meso-level eco-efficiency in indus- trial water-service systems. Journal of Cleaner Production 110, 54-65.

Levitt, B., March, J. G. (1988). Organizational Learn- ing. Annual Review of Sociology, 14(1), 319-340. Liessmann, W, (2010). Historischer Begrbau im

Harz, 3rd ed, Springer.

Lynas, D., Horberry, T. (2011). Human factor issues with automated mining equipment. Ergono- mics Open Journal, 4, 74-80.

Marot, N., Černič-Mali, B. (2012). Using Potentials of Post-Mining Regions-A Good Practice Over- view of Central Europe. En P. Wirth, B. Černič-Mali, W. Fischer (eds.), Post-Mining Regions in Central Europe-Problems, Potentials, Possibilities (pp. 130-147). Munich: Oekom.

McKenzie, G. (2017). Interpreting charles taylor’s social theory on religion and secularization: a comparative study. Springer.

Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Climate Protection Lower-Saxony (2017). Symposium “Chancen für den Harz” 2017 (online). https:// www.umwelt.niedersachsen.de/aktuelles/veranstaltungen/symposiumchancenfuer-den- harz-2017-155880.html, last access 29.08.2017. Monna, F., Hamer, K., Lévêque, J., Sauer, M. (2000). Pb isotopes as a reliable marker of early mining and smelting in the Northern Harz province (Lower Saxony, Germany). Journal of geochemical exploration, 68(3), 201-210.

Mützel, S. (2009). Networks as Culturally Constituted Processes. A Comparison of Relational Sociology and Actor-Network Theory. Current Sociology, 57(6), 871-887.

Nair, S. R., Ndubisi, N. O. (2011). Stakeholder In- fluence on Environmental Marketing. Journal of Management Research, 11(2), 67-76.

Nelson, K. C., Brummel, R. F., Jordan, N., Manson, S. (2014). Social networks in complex human and natural systems: the case of rotational grazing, weak ties, and eastern US dairy landscapes. Agriculture and Human Values, 31(2), 245-259. Nowak, H., Preul, F. (1971). Untersuchungen über Bleiund Zinkgehalte in Gewässern des Westharzes. Beiheft zum Geologischen Jahrbuch, No. 10.

Obstfeld, D. (2005). Social networks, the tertius iungens orientation, and involvement in innovation. Administrative science quarterly, 50.1, 100-130.

Öko-Institut (1980). Umweltgift Blei - Basisinfor- mationen zur Verseuchung des Raumes Goslar.

- Öko-Berichte, Freiburg i.Br.: ÖkoInstitut.

Podolny, J. M., Baron, J. N. (1997). Resources and relationships: Social networks and mobility in the workplace. American Sociological Review, 673-693.

Poole, M. S., Van de Ven, A. H., Dooley, K., Holmes,

M. E. (2000). Organizational Change and Innovation Processes, Theory and Methods for Research. Oxford University Press.

Quilley, S. (2009). The Land Ethic as an Ecological Civilizing Process. Environmental Ethics, 31(2), 115-134.

Quilley, S. (2011). Entropy, the anthroposphere and the ecology of civilization: An essay on the problem of “liberalism in one village” in the long view. The Sociological Review, 59.1_suppl, 65-90.

Quilley, S., Loyal, S. (2004). Towards a “central theory”: the scope and relevance of the sociology of Norbert Elias. En S. Loyal, S. Quilley (eds.), The Sociology of Norbert Elias (pp. 1-22). Cam- bridge University Press.

Reid, A., Miedzinski, M. (2008). Eco-innovation. Final report for sectoral innovation watch. Europe Innova. Technopolis group.

Rennings, K. (2000). Redefining innovation-eco- innovation research and the contribution from ecological economics. Ecological economics, 32.2, 319-332.

Rezsohazy, R. (2001). Sociology of Values. International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Elsevier.

REWIMET (2017a). Recycling-Cluster wirtschafts- strategische Metalle Niedersachsen (online). http://www.rewimet.de/rewimet-e-v, access 07.08.2017.

REWIMET (2017b). Forschungsprojekte (online). http://www.rewimet.de/projekte, access 25.10.2017.

REWIMET (2017c). Satzung und Beitragsordnung des REWIMET e.V. (online). http://www.rewimet. de/rewimet-e-v/satzung-beitragsordnung, ac- cess 29.08.2017.

Sarkis, J., Qinghua Z., Kee-hung, L. (2011). An organizational theoretic review of green supply chain management literature. International Journal of Production Economics, 130.1, 1-15.

Schiederig, T., Tietze, F., Herstatt, C. (2012). Green innovation in technology and innovation man- agement-an exploratory literature review. R&d Management, 42.2, 180-192.

Schwartz, S. H. (2012). An Overview of the Schwartz Theory of Basic Values. Online Readings in Psy- chology and Culture, 2(1).

Stanley, L. (2016). Olive Schreiner, Sociology and the Company She Kept. En A. Law, E. R. Lybeck (eds.), Sociological Amnesia: Cross-currents in Disciplinary History (pp. 89-104). Routledge.

Stier, B., Laufer, J. (2005). Von der Preussag zur TUI, Wege und Wandlungen eines Unternehmens 1923-2003. Essen: Klartextverlag.

Taylor, M. P., Mackay, A. K., Munksgaard, N. C., Hud- son-Edwards, K. A. (2015). Comments on manu- script. En J. Zheng, T. Huynh, M. Gasparon, J. Ng,

B. Noller, 2013. Human health risk assessment of lead from mining activities at semi-arid lo- cations in the context of total lead exposure. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 20, 8404-8416. Environmental Science and Pol- lution Research, 22(23), 19307-19312.

Technical University Clausthal (2016). Sekundär- rohstoffzentrum: Wirtschaftsministerium gibt 4,2 Millionen Euro für Harzer Recyclingwirt- schaft (online). https://www.tu-clausthal.de/ presse/nachrichten/details/1971.html, access 12.07.2017.

UNESCO (2010). Oberharzer Wasserwirtschaft ist Weltkulturerbe (online). http://www.unesco.de/ kultur/2010/uho-0810-wasserwirtschaft.html, access 12.07.2017.

Uzzi, B., Spiro, J. (2005). Collaboration and creati- vity: The small world problem. American Journal of Sociology, 111.2, 447-504.

Vogel, J. (2013). Aufklärung untertage: Wissens- welten des europäischen Bergbaus im aus- gehenden 18. und frühen 19. Jahrhundert. En

H. Schleiff, P. Konečný (eds.), Staat, Bergbau und Bergakademie. Montanexperten im 18. und frühen 19. Jahrhundert (pp. 13-35). Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

Wirth, P., Černič-Mali, B., Fischer, W. (2012). Problems and Potentials of Post-Mining Re- gions. En P. Wirth, B. Černič-Mali, W. Fischer (eds.), Post-Mining Regions in Central Europe- Problems, Potentials, Possibilities (pp. 14-31). München: Oekom.

Wright, K. B., Rains, S. A. (2014). Weak Tie Support Preference and Preffered Coping Styles as Predictors of Perceived Credibility Within Health- Related Computer-Mediated Support Groups. Health Communication, 24(3), 281-287.

Wyszomirski, A. (1920). Die Konstruktion der Draht- seile. En A. Wyszomirski (ed.), Die Drahtseile als Schachtförderseile (pp. 1-12). Berlin, Hei- delberg: Springer.

Young, O. E. (2016). Black powder and hand steel: Miners and machines on the old Western fron- tier. 2nd edition, University of Oklahoma Press.

Downloads

Published

2019-11-21

How to Cite

David, M., Rutjes, H., & Bleicher, A. (2019). The relational sociology of eco-innovation. Spanish Journal of Sociology, 28(3 - Sup1). https://doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2019.28

Issue

Vol. 28 No. 3 - Sup1 (2019): Monográfico. Hacia una sociología de la innovación

Section

Números monográficos

License

In the event that your manuscript is accepted for publication in Revista Española de Sociología, it will be understood that the authors access to:

• The transfer of the copyright of the article to Revista Española de Sociología.

• The assignment to the Revista Española de Sociología of the rights of commercial exploitation of the article to third parties both in the offset and digital formats, as well as to the search engines and platforms that may serve as intermediaries for the sale or knowledge of the article.