"The Coproduction of "Sustainability

Negotiated Practices and the Prius

Bibliographic Data

ID5337769
AuthorsRitsuko Ozaki (0000-0001-9392-8841, Imperial College Business School, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, UK, corresponding author), Isabel Shaw (0000-0002-4289-1740, Imperial College Business School, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, UK), Mark Dodgson (0000-0001-8532-946X, University of Queensland Business School, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia)
Year2013
Volume38
Issue4
Pages518-541
Publication date2013-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience Technology & Human Values (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0162-2439 • E-ISSN: 1552-8251
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0162243912441029
OpenAlexW2158142068
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited24

Much of the debate on sustainability is predicated on the belief that environmental demands lead to the production of sustainable technologies that induce environmental benefits. This fails to account for the influential ways technologies are used in practice, and the interactions between users and technologies that shape their environmental effects. This article uses the example of how cars and their drivers together accomplish the practice of driving through their interactions with each other, and explores the implications this has for generating environmental outcomes. We draw on a body of literature that argues how together, users and technologies participate in carrying out practices that actively shape outcomes, and we show how and why this applies to sustainability. The article presents the case of the Toyota Prius, analyzing Toyota's intent in designing a sustainable car and contrasting it with the perspectives of thirty-eight of its drivers. We find that the possibility for fuel and carbon reduction is coproduced and is a result of complex interactions between technology, drivers, and driving practice

Business · Coproduction · Economics · Emerging technologies · Political science · Public relations · Sustainability · Computer Science · Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies · Innovation Diffusion and Forecasting · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance

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