Multi-Level Perspective to Facilitate Sustainable Transitions — A Pathway for German Oems Towards Electric Vehicles

Abstract

Sustainable transitions within industrial branches are a complex problem since they involve emerging technologies, as well as cultural, market and policy-related changes. Recent studies emphasise the need for analytical approaches that not only do justice to this complexity by reflecting relevant trends and determinants, but also reveal insights that are intuitive enough to be implemented without major effort. Aiming at addressing this trade-off, we pursue a strategic analytical procedure that links external factors from multi-level perspective and internal, company-specific dynamic capabilities. We draw on expert interviews and subsequent qualitative analytical evaluation to obtain insights regarding individual motives, visions and boundary conditions of actors from the German automotive industry. Our contribution is both conceptually and practically important, as it unveils manifestations of significant dynamic capabilities and provides recommendations for change managers and policy makers leading to successful, sustainable transition in the automotive industry.

Conceptualisations of incumbent firms in sustainability transitions: Insights from organisation theory and a systematic literature review

“…Authors following this line of argumentation regularly focus on internal decision-making processes. For instance, innovation-oriented behaviours are explained by dedicated managerial staff who push specific environmental innovations forward (Berggren et al, 2015;Budde et al, 2015Budde et al, , 2012Krätzig et al, 2019;Lee et al, 2006;Sushandoyo & Magnusson, 2014). Furthermore, when innovation is understood as a necessity to maintain an existing market position or even capture additional market share, environmental innovations gain internal support (Budde et al, 2015;Köhler et al, 2013).…”

Choosing the method for determining angular motions of motor vehicle electromechanical subassemblies

“…According to the data in [10], the sales of plug-in electric vehicles had reached 2 million by 2020. This is due to the fact that technological solutions are being developed all over the world to facilitate the spread of electric vehicles in large cities and metropolises [11][12][13].…”