Locked in unsustainability : Understanding lock-ins and their interactions using the case of food packaging

Summary, in English

Lock-in mechanisms are major hurdles to sustainability transitions. Scholars identified various types of lock-ins; however, their dynamics and interactions remain underexplored. Using the case of food packaging, this study enhances the conceptual understanding and empirical analysis of lock-ins and their interactions from a socio-technical perspective. We analyze the material, institutional, behavioral, and discursive configuration and the shallow and deep lock-ins reinforcing the persistent dominance of single-use over reusable food packaging in Germany. Additionally, we explore the lock-in interactions both within and between the socio-technical elements. Hence, we introduce archetypical interlock-ins and lock-in clusters pointing to core trends of resistance towards reusable packaging alternatives. This study advances the lock-in concept for future socio-technical analyses while guiding the illumination of the complex dynamics of stability, the assessment of current sustainability transition interventions, and the search for potential unlocking strategies to enable change.

• Author: Machteld Catharina Simoens; Sina Leipold; Lea Fuenfschilling
• Department/s: CIRCLE
• Publishing year: 2022-12-01
• Language: English
• Pages: 14-29
• Publication/Series: Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions
• Volume: 45
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2022.08.005
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Topic: Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
• Keywords: Circular economy; Path-dependency; Resistance; Reuse; Socio-technical change; Transition
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 2210-4224