Small wins triggering the sustainability transition of the Dutch construction industry

Abstract

The Dutch construction sector has to deal with two great social issues. First, the Dutch government is increasingly emphasizing the transition to a more sustainable industry, that focuses on circularity and reducing the environmental impact. Secondly, there is a housing shortage in the Netherlands. In order to accomplish both tasks, the Dutch government is pushing for more innovation in order to achieve a sustainability transition. To analyze whether a sustainability transition is occurring and innovations are initiated to accelerate the transition, this research used the multi-level perspective and the small wins approach. Small wins are completed, concrete, implemented outcomes of moderate importance, and focus on incremental change to achieve sustainable results for large societal challenges. The research aims to systematically analyze innovative initiatives of small-scale, which are qualified as small wins, in the sustainability transition issue of the Dutch construction industry, by answering the following research question:

How can “small wins” amplify the sustainability transition of the Dutch construction industry?

To formulate an answer on this questions, a qualitative research design was used. Sixteen initiatives were studied that contributed to the sustainability transition as derived from desk research. The conducted interviews were coded using the constant comparative method in order to compare categories and identify patterns.

The analysis showed that moderate importance is experienced as valuable for small wins to achieve more radical change and transformations. Small wins should have concrete outcomes to eventually become positively judged by others, which stimulates the development of the small win. The market barriers small wins experience are causing technical and regulatory barriers small wins have to overcome. The risk averse nature of the construction industry is hampering the further development of the small wins. In addition, small wins should couple their initiatives to other problem areas in order to increase the energizing and logic of attraction mechanism. As a result, more imitation and competition could occur, which would amplify the sustainability transition.

Based on these results, it can be concluded that small wins should operate on a local and small scale, to develop radical innovations. By doing so, small wins will experience less resistance from the market. By being competitive on price and by complying with dominant standards and certification procedures, small wins can overcome existing barriers. The assumption is that when the right propelling mechanisms are activated, small wins can amplify the sustainability transition in the Dutch construction industry.