Approaches for transitions towards sustainable development: status quo and challenges

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>With the aim of facilitating the long‐term transformation towards a sustainable future, the research field of sustainability transition has gained growing attention. A number of approaches have been proposed to understand or even manage the complex societal transition processes towards sustainable development. There are four popular approaches for sustainability transitions, i.e. the multi‐phase concept, multi‐level perspective, strategic niche management and transition management. However, there is a lack of studies to systematically review and critically reflect on these various approaches in this emerging field. This paper presents a holistic review of the four most common approaches, and more importantly identifies four critical challenges for the future studies on transition approaches. Consequently, the associated future research agenda is presented. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment</jats:p>