Towards Sustainable Mobility - Digital Eco-Systems as Drivers of Disruptive Change

Abstract

The quest for sustainability is one of the most demanding challenges societies face today. As the mobility sector is among the main contributors to environmental degradation, regulative institutions promote sustainable technologies and modes of transportation, though they often ignore socio-technical circumstances. In this conceptual paper, we draw on the established socio-technical transitions theory to develop a multi-level framework explaining the role of emerging digital eco-systems - comprising digital technologies, relevant actors, and the relationships between them - in the transition of mobility towards sustainability. Drawing on an analysis of mobile applications for sustainable mobility, we illustrate our theoretical propositions on how digital eco-systems transform and disrupt established patterns for the benefit of smart sustainable solutions. For instance, the ubiquity of broadband Internet in conjunction with the diffusion of mobile devices and social media enables communication among distant actors, thus reducing uncertainty and enhancing resilience of sustainable mobility alternatives, such as peer-to-peer carsharing.