Agência em rede na transição para sustentabilidade: análise de uma rede de inovação do setor da construção civil

Abstract

This study aimed to develop an analytical framework of 'networked agency' in sustainability transition. Building upon the concepts of agency and structure from sociology and based on the ontology of multi-level socio-technical transitions, the analytical framework was proposed. Serving as the proposed thesis, this analytical framework was composed of seven propositions exploring the mechanisms underlying the process of 'networked agency' in sustainability transition. To operationalize this framework, a case study was carried out, focusing on an actor network engaged in innovation within the residential building construction sector in the state of Ceará, Brazil. The methodological approach involves forty interviews with actors from the niche and the socio-technical regime connected to the innovation network. Additionally, a one-year participant observation was performed, which is complemented by data extracted from twenty-four documents. Subsequently, a content analysis was conducted, and the data were triangulated to enhance the validity and reliability of the study. As a result, the empirical investigation has allowed an analysis of how the network led to innovation adoption in the sector and has revealed the antecedents of the network foundation. Also, it allowed a description of the BIM adoption process – a technology 'pressured' by the sector's landscape, forming the basis for the transition phases (experimentation, stabilization, diffusion, and reconfiguration). Additionally, it facilitated the identification of niche and regime actors and their interactions, revealed the main mechanisms underlying the transition process, the barriers and drivers, and provided an understanding of the institutional dynamics in BIM adoption as the construction sector moves towards sustainability. Collectively, these results provide an in-depth understanding of the influence of the network on the actors’ agency. Therefore, six of the seven propositions were sustained and refined by empirical research, indicating the validity of the proposed thesis. This constitutes the main contribution of the study. It can be concluded that there is an ongoing sustainability transition in the analyzed case. Despite significant advancements in this way, this transition faces contradictions and barriers, especially those related to the challenges of developing countries. The evidenced advancements were engendered by an actor network oriented toward sustainability, which has now evolved into an innovation institute named INOVACON. The study contributes to the theory by proposing an alternative reflection on how actors engage in creating, disrupting, and maintaining regimes, associating agency with socio-technical levels, and by exploring in greater depth the role of innovation networks in the transition towards sustainability. It also contributes by investigating the socio-technical system in an emerging country, adopting a technology 'pressured' by the sector's landscape, identifying multi-level dynamics with niche development, and its assimilation by the reconfiguring regime. Finally, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in Brazil to address the networked agency in the building construction sector from a transition perspective. Limitations are discussed, and a proposed future agenda was presented.