Abstract for:Transition management in the swiss construction industry

An estimated 40 million tons of gravel are extracted and consumed annually in Switzerland for construction purposes, making it a significant part of the national metabolism. However, mining activities are increasingly colliding with urban development, societal acceptance for further expansion of the industry is low and the impact on the environment are putting to the industry growth to a halt. It is argued that a delineation between public policy and business model logic is taking place, resulting from traditional forms of transition governance. Moving from linear to dynamic tranistion governance recognizes the complexity of feedback and decision making among multiple actors and and reduces policy resistance potential. Whereas transition modelling is a growing niche, operationalization and selection of relevant units of analysis pose majo challenges.It is argued that the concept of business models provides the potential to fill the research gap of operationalization in transition management and enables a relevant narrative for discussion.