Specifying “regime” — A framework for defining and describing regimes in transition research

It is more and more agreed by research and policy that a long-term sustainability of industrialized societies cannot be achieved without fundamental changes at the level of different societal subsystems, such as the agricultural, transportation or water management systems. This view has lead to an increase in the amount of research carried out about the so-called “transitions”. Transitions comprise long-term, fundamental change in societal subsystems and are seen as encompassing co-evolutionary and mutually reinforcing processes in the economic, technological, institutional and socio-cultural domains. Transition research aims at understanding transitions and at finding methods that facilitate change directed towards societal goals (so-called “transition management”).This paper adds to the growing body of concepts of this young research strand. It suggests a framework for defining and describing “regimes”, the systems resulting from the broad and interdisciplinary view taken by transition research. The concept “regime” is of central importance for transition research, since it defines the level of societal systems on which transitions are mainly analysed. What actually is “the regime” to be researched and possibly managed is however usually not given through clear system boundaries but is a matter of framing and deliberation. In order to guide processes of regime identification, the paper develops five defining characteristics of regimes and gives a definition based on them. Further a method useful to structure and graphically represent knowledge about a regime is introduced. Such a structuring of knowledge is an important first step to understand how a regime “works”.     

企业模块化协同创新及网络化资源管理：基于海尔的探索性研究

首先阐述以模块化为抓手推动协同创新的理论内涵；其次以用户需求为导向，构建基于模块化的协同创新网络模型，并从生态学视角探讨网络化资源管理，形成以企业为中心、网络化资源持续优化的自组织协同创新生态圈。进一步地，采用探索性案例方法并聚焦海尔的T系列空调产品，深入分析案例企业通过模块化协同创新推动产品创新和技术升级的实践，最后讨论案例企业针对网络化资源的若干微观管理机制。研究可以为中国企业在网络化时代探索产品模块化，以及构建基于模块化的协同创新网络、管理网络化资源提供借鉴。     

知识表达、知识互补性、知识产权均衡

基于知识的“代数格”表达方式和知识的互补性原理 ,这篇文章讨论知识产权的博弈均衡问题。每个人都拥有“局部知识” ,显然 ,如果法律对每个人的局部知识设立产权并由政府全面加以保护的话 ,人类知识将无法获得任何发展。另一方面 ,如果法律不承认任何知识的产权且政府对任何知识产权都不加以保护的话 ,人类知识也难以获得发展的激励。这里将证明 ,N个具有局部知识的社会成员在社会整体知识构成的代数格上关于各自的“局部知识”的价格的博弈存在至少一个纳什均衡———此即该社会内部自恰的和最优的知识产权配置。由周林 ( 1 994) ,这类均衡点构成一完备格。又由MilgromandShannon( 1 994) ,博弈的每一参与者最佳对应集内的最大策略和最小策略在社会知识的代数格上 (按集合强序 )单调非减 ,这意味着当社会成员的初始知识水平有所提高时 ,由产权博弈均衡所决定的各个局部知识的知识产权价格将相应有所上升。所有上述结果都不需要通常的凸性假设 ,因此在以“知识”为核心要素的经济分析中 (包括收益递增经济学 )具有独特重要的意义     

Bounded socio-technical experiments as agents of systemic change: The case of a zero-energy residential building

Large-scale shifts in dominant technologies are the necessary components of a transition toward sustainability. Such shifts are difficult because, in addition to technological innovation, they require changes in the existing institutions, professional norms, belief systems and, in some cases, also lifestyles. In the languages of cognitive and policy sciences, higher order learning on a scale ranging from individuals to professional and business communities, to the society at large, is needed. Higher order learning is especially crucial in the types of innovations that depend mainly on synthesis of existing technologies and know-how to achieve radical reductions in energy and material consumption, as is the case with high performance buildings. One way to facilitate this type of learning is through experimentation with new technologies and services.Drawing on our earlier concept of a Bounded Socio-Technical Experiment, in this paper we propose a four-level conceptual framework for mapping and monitoring the learning processes taking place in a BSTE, and apply it to an empirical case study of a zero-fossil-fuel residential building in Boston. Three major conclusions are that: learning took place both on the individual and team level, that individual learning primarily (but not exclusively) involved changes in problem definitions; and that team learning consisted of participant turnover until congruence in worldviews and interpretive frames was achieved. This case study also shows that we must think of innovating in building design as both a process and a product, and that both must be considered in the future efforts to replicate this building.This study highlights that technological innovation about technology as much as about people, their perceptions, and their interactions with each other and with the material world. Sustainability will not be reached by technology alone, but by deep learning by individuals, groups, professional societies and other institutions.     

Technology,property rights and organizational diversity in the software industry

Why do open- and closed-source productions co-exist? To address this question, the paper studies the viability of distinct systems for software development. The model shows that: (a) for low design costs of modularity, both open- and closed-source productions are viable systems; (b) closed-source production is more likely to be adopted the greater the expected rents on software; and (c) production efficiency is not a necessary condition for the stochastic stability of a system to obtain. These three results can shed light on the emergence of organizational diversity in the software industry. The paper adds to the literature in three ways: first, it considers property rights and technology as endogenous variables in the process of system design; second it argues that in producing software multiple equilibrium designs may exist; and third, it shows that, in because of high rents and low design costs of modularity, production inefficiency can be persistent.     

Can cognitive neuroscience give rise to satellite disciplines,such as neuro-economics?

Many disciplines have recently emerged, which are all characterized by the prefix “neuro” added to the name of a traditional discipline from the fields of social sciences or humanities. Among them, there is “neuro-economics.” These disciplines are all based on the assumption of modularity. However, modularity is not the only possible way to conceive of the relations between mental functions and the brain. Furthermore, the assumption of modularity becomes useful only on condition that there are ways for determining what brain areas are active at a given moment, while a human being is performing an experimental task. In spite of the popularity neuro-imagining techniques enjoy that is not (yet?) the case. Even more problematic is the fact that, in order to make use of neuro-imagines, one must know what mental functions are required to perform the experimental task and what is the time course of those functions. For very few tasks, if any, we have the type of knowledge that would be necessary. Finally, even assuming that all conditions are met, what we would have achieved is simply to map mental functions into brain areas. However, localizing does not mean explaining and/or understanding. Even if it were possible precisely to map-specific mental functions into well-localized brain areas, which presently is not, the explanatory value of brain localization is doubtful. In order to explain why and how a given mental function occurs, knowing where in the brain it takes place is of little help. A true explanation requires being precise and explicit about the mechanisms that cause that mental function.     

Application of ecological footprint in ecological industrial systems：a study case of maize-MSG production systems

To improve the comparability of the research results of ecological industry, the ecological footprint is appliedto analyze the resource utilization and environmental pollution in various subsystems, taking maize-MSG as a case.Results show that the production process from maize to MSG is a extended process of ecological footprint, and that theecological footprint of the maize production is the biggest; the extension of ecological footprint is followed by the increaseof footprint profit, which means that the extension of production chain is an important method to improve the resourcesprofit; the systems have a big proportion of the indirect energy ecological footprint; the air and water pollution in MSGsubsystem is the most serious. At last, it can be identified that ecological footprint is a good method to measure resourceutilization and environmental pollution in various subsystems of an integrated ecological industry.     

模块化对产品创新影响的实证研究——组织学习和关系网络的调节效应简

利用我国长三角地区、珠三角地区和环渤海地区三大经济圈的124家高新技术企业的调研数据,实证分析了模块化设计对不同层次的产品创新（包括架构创新和模块创新）的影响,并探讨了组织学习和关系网络对该影响的调节效应。研究结果显示：模块化设计对产品模块创新和产品架构创新均具有显著影响;探索性学习越深入,模块化对产品模块创新和架构创新的影响越大、越显著;开发性学习也对产品模块创新和架构创新具有调节效应,但其影响程度明显低于探索性创新;关系网络对产品模块创新具有显著的调节作用,而对产品架构创新不具有调节效应。     

Ecological-economic viability as a criterion of strong sustainability under uncertainty

Strong sustainability, according to the common definition, requires that different natural and economic capital stocks be maintained as physical quantities separately. Yet, in a world of uncertainty this cannot be guaranteed. To therefore define strong sustainability under uncertainty in an operational manner we propose to use the concept of viability. Viability means that the different components and functions of a dynamic, stochastic system at any time remain in a domain where the future existence of these components and functions is guaranteed with sufficiently high probability. We develop a unifying and general ecological-economic concept of viability that encompasses the traditional ecological and economic notions of viability as special cases. It provides an operational criterion of strong sustainability under a mild form of uncertainty and for medium spatial and temporal scales. We illustrate this concept and demonstrate its usefulness by applying it to livestock grazing management in semi-arid rangelands.     

Routines and the environment: Bridging the gaps

The paper examines the hypothesis that the mechanisms used by firms to improve their environmental performance are organisational routines. The concept of routines has been developed by evolutionary economists to investigate firms' innovative behaviour, but it has not been used to study how firms address environmental issues. Based on an applicable definition of routines, a methodology is designed to identify environmental routines in a case study of 13 oil refineries located in four different countries. Results confirm the hypothesis for firms operating under strict environmental regulations (France, UK). A comparative analysis of the degrees of routineness of the environmental mechanisms used by case study firms reveals and explains important gaps between European and North African refineries. Solutions to reduce them are proposed.     

模块化、网络惯性与企业网络变革——以军工科研机构为例

网络惯性的存在,阻碍着企业有效应对网络变革。企业的模块化能力直接影响着其克服网络惯性的能力。企业需要首先发展自身的产品模块化能力,进而加强组织模块化程度,有效克服网络惯性,最大化地从企业间网络获得战略柔性。本文分析了军工科研机构的网络变革和模块化重构,指出产品模块化的不足限制了军工科研机构的组织模块化,从而阻碍了军工科研机构应对网络变革,强化产品模块化程度并以此为基础推进组织模块化程度是其克服网络惯性的理性选择。     

中国绿色能源高质量发展水平测度研究

在"创新、协调、绿色、开放、共享"五大发展理念中,绿色协调发展成为关系中国可持续发展全局的重要理念,而绿色能源高质量发展是绿色高质量发展中的一个重要有机组成部分。本文构建了涉及绿色能源投资、生产、消费和减排4个系统的9个细化指标,利用熵权TOPSIS法实证测度2017年中国绿色能源高质量发展水平,并深入分析各区域之间的差异。通过研究发现:中国30个省区绿色能源高质量发展的水平在4个子系统和综合水平方面的表现均存在差异,综合水平总体呈现"东中部高且比较接近,而西部中等偏低"的区域分布格局;然后依照绿色能源高质量发展综合水平的高低,把30个省区划分为领先型、中等型和落后型3种类型。进而深入把握中国绿色能源高质量发展水平的区域分布规律,为统筹推进各省区协同提升中国绿色能源高质量发展水平提供较为可靠的依据。     

组织学习与模块化嵌入的产学研合作联盟研究

知识经济时代,学习型组织模式构建对于推动产学研协同创新发展意义重大。首先,应用资源依赖理论解析了面向产学研合作联盟的组织学习内涵问题。其次,引入模块化理论探讨了合作联盟组织学习调节机制设计问题。在此基础上,采用多案例研究方法比较了我国家电产业的3个代表性合作联盟运行机制,并着重分析了合作联盟组织学习特征及问题。结果表明：①保持资源互依关系有利于联盟成员间开展知识交互和知识创新;②模块化不但有利于实现“背靠背”的合作创新,还可以作为合作联盟组织学习调节机制;③组织学习对联盟绩效具有积极影响,更是促进产学研合作联盟演化的重要推手。最后,针对我国产学研合作联盟存在的主要问题提出对策建议。     

Reconciling sustainability, systems theory and discounting

Most definitions of sustainability imply that a system is to be maintained at a certain level, held within certain limits, into the indefinite future. Sustainability denies run-away growth, but it also avoids any decline or destruction. This sustainability path is hard to reconcile with the renewal cycle that can be observed in many natural systems developing according to their intrinsic mechanisms and in social systems responding to internal and external pressures. Systems are parts of hierarchies where systems of higher levels are made up of subsystems from lower levels. Renewal in components is an important factor of adaptation and evolution. If a system is sustained for too long, it borrows from the sustainability of a supersystem and rests upon lack of sustainability in subsystems. Therefore by sustaining certain systems beyond their renewal cycle, we decrease the sustainability of larger, higher-level systems. For example, Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction posits that in a capitalist economy, the collapse and renewal of firms and industries is necessary to sustain the vitality of the larger economic system. However, if the capitalist economic system relies on endless growth, then sustaining it for too long will inevitably borrow from the sustainability of the global ecosystem. This could prove catastrophic for humans and other species. To reconcile sustainability with hierarchy theory, we must decide which hierarchical level in a system we want to sustain indefinitely, and accept that lower level subsystems must have shorter life spans. In economic analysis, inter-temporal discount rates essentially tell us how long we should care about sustaining any given system. Economists distinguish between discount rates for individuals based on personal time preference, lower discount rates for firms based on the opportunity cost of capital, and even lower discount rates for society. For issues affecting even higher-level systems, such as global climate change, many economists question the suitability of discounting future values at all. We argue that to reconcile sustainability with inter-temporal discounting, discount rates should be determined by the hierarchical level of the system being analyzed.     

科研诚信“自律”与“他律”协同建设的内在逻辑及现实路径研究

我国在40余年的科研诚信建设过程中，“自律”与“他律”建设均存在不足，两者没有形成有效协同。为加强科研诚信建设，更好地发挥科研诚信系统的整体协同效应，需要运用协同学理论，对我国科研诚信建设系统进行分析，探求系统内部协同机理，促使科研诚信“他律”和“自律”在合作过程中产生协同效应，并通过优化科研诚信建设子系统各要素，加强系统与环境之间的合作，发挥科研诚信建设系统的最优协同效应，进而构建我国科研诚信建设全方位协同治理体系。     

IS model: A general model of forecasting and its applications in science and the economy

Expanding the work of Marchetti and Modis on Lotka-Volterra competition systems, a general model of Interaction Systems (IS) is introduced to describe the dynamics of multiple member interactions among different populations concerning not only biological systems but other types of systems as well. The new IS model provides us with a general framework of analysis and forecasting, where all parameters, variables, and interactions have real meaning, by using basic knowledge of each system.The proposed model can be applied to many different fields covering economic, business, social, physical, and other phenomena giving us both numerical estimates and qualitative insights of the system's dynamics. This is illustrated in two case studies. In the first case, the IS model is applied to elementary chemical reactions in order to quantify the reactions' kinetics. The result is the well known rate law of chemical reactions kinetics thus providing evidence of the proposed model's validity. In the second case, the IS model is applied to the global economy. The resulting model is tested against real global GDP data. The new IS model gave reliable estimates and proved to be considerably more accurate as compared to a similar forecast of global GDP based on the logistic growth model. Furthermore, the new model presented a basic framework of understanding the nature of major economic shifts, including the recent global recession of 2009, by studying the dynamic relationship between demand and supply.     

海洋中心城市研究与建设进展

基于国内外相关文献，完善海洋中心城市概念内涵，从海洋经济、海洋航运、海洋文化、海洋旅游、海洋科研等角度总结相关研究方法、指标体系和建设经验。结果表明，虽然部分专家学者和政府部门已经从一个或多个角度对海洋中心城市进行案例分析和规划研究，但目前对海洋中心城市尚无准确概念和定义，多为定性的社科类研究，缺乏相关定量指标体系，整体性、综合性、交叉性学术研究较少。未来有关部门和专家学者应结合国内外海洋中心城市发展情况，根据当地实际发展需要开展实证研究，逐步完善海洋中心城市基本概念和指标体系，进而为其他地区海洋中心城市建设提供理论依据。     

Relative and absolute scarcity of nature. Assessing the roles of economics and ecology for biodiversity conservation

Our aim in this essay is to identify and analyze some of the difficulties with interdisciplinary integration of economic and ecological contributions to the study of biodiversity loss. We develop our analysis from a widely accepted definition of economics which is based on the concept of scarcity. Taking a closer look at this notion, we find that economics actually limits itself to a very particular aspect of scarcity, which we denote as relative scarcity. We describe in what respect the economic approach towards biodiversity is based on this notion, and also reflect on the specific understanding of the relation of humans and nature behind the economic approach. We then turn to absolute scarcity as another notion of scarcity, and show that this is not within the scope of economics, but has been a theme of ecology and ecological economics. We describe in which way ecological and ecological–economic approaches towards biodiversity are based on the idea of absolute scarcity, and also reflect on the specific understanding of the human–nature relationship behind this notion of scarcity. Against this background, we discuss the roles of economics and ecology for nature conservation. We conclude that the interdisciplinary integration of ecology and economics requires a philosophical underpinning, and suggest a framework for further research.