Perspectives on demonstration pathways in the sociotechnical transition of electric mobility in Finland

A model of sociotechnical change takes into account different sociotechnical configurations and their interactions in a multi-level framework consisting of three major levels: niche innovations, a sociotechnical regime and a sociotechnical landscape. The sociotechnical changes can be analysed by studying the transition pathways along different multi-level interactions. The pressure from the landscape level and niche-innovations from the bottom level reinforce the relationships and operations on the regime level. This paper discusses the results of the study and illustrates the on-going development and the future changes in sociotechnical regimes of electric mobility in Finland. The regime changes have been analysed using a three-level perspective. The levels comprise an industry level, a value networks level and an enduser level. The results of the regime analysis show that there is a great deal of uncertainty in the operation environment and that new actors and new business models are needed to for the system to work properly. According to earlier research, sociotechnical transition pathways can be categorised based on the environmental change and the type of transition. In the case of electric mobility, the transition does not fit directly with any of the category types. Electric mobility will most likely follow the reconfiguration transition pathway. The changes in Finland are taking place slowly. This development can be aggregated via governmental support and incentives for organisations and consumers.