Articulation of sustainability in the emerging field of nanocoatings

Sustainability is an umbrella term that covers many things. In this paper we study the process of articulation, which includes both the specification of broader terms into more detailed ones, as well as the legitimation of plans and outcomes of R&D. In case of two nanocoating technologies (sol–gel and PVD/CVD) in German regions, we studied the implicit assumptions about future developments, strategies and research agendas. An important finding is that sustainability tends to be articulated in combination with other aspects, such as lower costs, which may then become ‘vehicles’ for sustainability.