Page - 149 - in Critical Issues in Science, Technology and Society Studies - Conference Proceedings of the 17th STS Conference Graz 2018

3. Analytical framework 3.1 The socio-technical approach and MLP In the study of socio-technical transition, the multi-level perspective (MLP) is a common tool used to describe the processes involved with broad structural changes in the way society uses technology. The MLP was originally developed by Rip and Kemp (1998) and has since been elaborated by others (Rotmans et al. 2001, Geels, 2002, Geels, 2005, Geels & Schot, 2007, Geels et al. 2016, Hodson, et al. 2017) to incorporate more variables and complex interdependencies between systemic components. The MLP describes socio-technical transition using a nested hierarchy of interacting levels (landscape, regime and niche) that constitute the system and its environment. The regime can be thought of as the semi-coherent set of rules and practices that guide actors along particular behavioral trajectories within a socio-technical system. The landscape is the exogenous environment that influences the regime. Niches are spaces in which new, experimental and potentially radical innovations can develop outside of the regime selection environment. Car sharing is the niche innovation that is the central focus of this paper. 3.2 Theories of social practice The MLP and practice theories have different approaches to innovation. If the MLP has a tendency to focus on technological innovations and follow them from inception to application, practice theory approaches innovation from the other end – that of its end use and the structures that support its use” (Southerton & Watson, 2015). Practice theory is a social theory that eschews the tendency to view human behavior through the lenses of homo economicus and homo sociologicus, which view human actions, respectively, as the result of either (1) individual actions, intentions and interests that are deliberate choices; or (2) collective values and rules that shape human behavior and lead to a normative consensus (Reckwitz, 2002, p. 244). Practice theory shifts focus away from the human and towards the practice itself, which is conceptualized as being constituted of interconnected elements, namely, materials, skills and meanings. Practices change when there is a change in either the material elements), the practitioner, or the relationship between practices (Pantzar & Shove, 2010; Watson, 2012). 4. Car sharing in Norway 4.1 Supply-side perspective Although car sharing is still very much a niche mobility practice in Norway, as it is in most other countries, it has undergone rapid growth in recent years. The first car sharing companies in Norway were established as collectives in the 1990s in three largest cities of Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim. Over the last decade, established mobility companies like Hertz, Avis and Møller have entered the market. The most dramatic change has been that of the rise of P2P platforms, which have led to a rapid rise in the size of the car sharing market as measured by membership and number of available cars. P2P platforms, however, have not had a major impact on actual use as compared with the other providers. It is expected that in late 2018, Norway will have ten car sharing service providers. As incumbent regime actors become more involved in the market, smaller entrepreneurial start-ups and cooperatives may be gradually displaced or absorbed. 149