Systemic design through the lens of incumbent firms to address complex sustainability transitions
A systematic literature review and comparison between commercial and non-commercial environments
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Abstract
In response to the urgency of sustainability challenges, there is a growing recognition of the incumbent firm’s role to engage in sustainable transitions. This paper explores the potential of systemic design as an approach for incumbent firms to facilitate sustainability transitions.
A systematic literature review was conducted, focusing on research contributions between 2000 and 2023 in Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases. To synergize the review, the TCCM typology (Theory, Context, Characteristics, and Methods) was applied.
The analysis contrasts systemic design interventions in commercial and non-commercial contexts. It has been found that existing research in a commercial environment primarily focuses on small to midsized (social) enterprises facilitating local circularity transitions. Differing from the non-commercial environment, where research focuses on diverse wicked societal problems.
By identifying this gap, this contribution aims to advocate for a holistic perspective and interventions addressing sustainability transitions in a commercial context and advance the role of incumbent firms to such transitions. By that this paper contributes to advancing understanding and practice in systemic design for sustainable transitions in a commercial context.