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Cited by 33Sustainability and Climate Change GovernanceSustainability in Higher EducationUniversity-Industry-Government Innovation Models

Non-governmental organisations and universities as transition intermediaries in sustainability transformations building on grassroots initiatives

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Wolf, Patricia, Harboe, Julie, Sudbrack Rothbarth, Catherine, Gaudenz, Urs, Arsan, Leyla, Obrist, Chris, van Leeuwen, Manon·2021·Creativity and Innovation Management
DOI 10.1111/caim.12425
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Abstract

Although niche grassroots initiatives can push bottom‐up sustainability transitions, they can face problems in forming a more global niche and in scaling their innovative solutions to a regime level. A thorough literature review shows scholarly agreement on the assumption that universities and non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) can support sustainability transition in the acceleration phase by intermediating within niches and between niches and regimes. As in‐depth research and a reality check on successful intermediary strategies in this context are still lacking, this paper aims to contribute to a conceptual framework that integrates the NGOs and universities expected activities in existing literature and relates them to one another. We develop such a framework and test it in three case studies from the plastic revaluation field, comparing and drawing on the perspectives of niche, intermediary and regime actors. Findings confirm the conceptual framework and suggest changes and extensions. We enhance existing knowledge by providing detailed insights into successful intermediary activities in these innovation systems and draw conclusions for policymakers.

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  • Effective governance depends on leadership commitment, clarity of responsibilities, stakeholder integration, and adaptability to internal and external pressures while maintaining focus on social and environmental missions.

    “Effective governance depends on leadership commitment, clarity of responsibilities, stakeholder integration, and adaptability to internal and external pressures while maintaining focus on social and environmental missions [34,44,47,67,71].”

    From Sustainable Value Creation in Nonprofit Organizations: Processes, Determinants, and Strategic Dimensions (2026) · cites this paper as [47]

    Section 9.1 (Implications for policy makers; page unavailable) recommends an integrated approach involving citizens and grassroots initiatives, supporting the stakeholder-integration part of the claim. Section 4 (Grassroots initiatives and transition intermediaries; page unavailable) describes NGOs pursuing long-term visions despite an unfavourable political context. The paper does not establish the broader claim that effective governance depends on leadership commitment, clear responsibilities, or adaptability to internal and external pressures while maintaining social and environmental missions. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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1 of the 64 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

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  1. [9]9. Flick, U. (2014). An introduction to qualitative research (4th edition.). Reinbek.
  2. [55]55. Troxler, P., & Wolf, P. (2010). Bending the rules: The Fab Lab innovation ecology. In: Proceedings of the 11th CINet Conference (pp. 1-12). Overdinkel: Continuous Innovation Network. https://www.academia.edu/1964058/
  3. [58]58. Wolf, P., Klotz, U. & Gaudenz, U. (2020). Mitbestimmung von Mitarbeitenden aus DIY-Communities. Studienbericht. Düsseldorf: Hans-Böckler-Stiftung. Retrieved from: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/214162 (accessed 07.11.2020)

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Authors
Wolf, P., Harboe, J., Sudbrack Rothbarth, C., Gaudenz, U., Arsan, L., Obrist, C., & van Leeuwen, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Southern Denmark (DK)
  • Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (CH)
  • Department of Management Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts Lucerne Switzerland
  • Teknoloji Arastirma ve Gelistirme Endustriyel Urunler Bilisim Teknolojileri San Tic (TR)
  • EOLAS S.L. Badajoz Spain
Corresponding author
Wolf, Patricia
ORCID
Venue
Creativity and Innovation Management
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2021-01-18
Volume
30
Issue
3
Pages
596-618
ISSN
  • 0963-1690 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-8691
DOI
10.1111/caim.12425
OpenAlex
W3124472390
Semantic Scholar
c3c9e845aaff09ed1dcc8d3a208092027f08239c
Cited by
33
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 8
FWCI
1.64
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Creativity and Innovation Management (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • University of Southern Denmark Research Portal (University of Southern Denmark) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Sustainability and Climate Change Governance
  • Social Sciences › Education › Sustainability in Higher Education
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management of Technology and Innovation › University-Industry-Government Innovation Models
Keywords
sustainability transitions, non-governmental organizations, universities, intermediaries, grassroots initiatives, bottom-up innovation, innovation scaling, innovation systems, conceptual framework, sustainability policy

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