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- Title
Identities and axes of tension in the renewable energy industry: A case study of emergence at the edge of chaos.
- Authors
Porter, Terry B.; Zivanovic-Nenadovic, Ana
- Abstract
Success in renewable energy projects depends in large measure on supportive stakeholder attitudes, especially in host communities where energy facilities may be sited. Much recent scholarship recommends proactive engagement with local stakeholders by project developers, but the details of what exactly this entails are largely unknown. We apply a complexity theoretical framework in a grounded theory study of stakeholder attitudes towards a possible renewable energy installation. We find that personal and social identities and dynamics are key, and that they are crystalized around what we term 'axes of tension'. Axes of tension represent invisible but profoundly salient polarizations underlying personal identities and community attitudes. We suggest that axes of tension constitute a 'live' site of coevolution, in vivo, as contrasting identities and viewpoints collide, comingle, recombine, and coevolve in a socially constructed complex adaptive system.
- Subjects
RENEWABLE energy industry; RENEWABLE energy sources; GROUP identity; COMMUNITY attitudes; ENERGY facilities
- Publication
Emergence: Complexity & Organization, 2014, Vol 16, Issue 3, p31
- ISSN
1521-3250
- Publication type
Case Study