The practice of transition management: Examples and lessons from four distinct cases

Abstract

In this article we present four different cases of transition management in which we were involved over the past 10 years. Transition management was developed in the course of this period in theoretical and practical sense, mainly in the Netherlands, as novel mode of governance for sustainable development. The theoretical debate about transition management is being increasingly published, but so far only few empirical examples were. In this article we present four cases that combined give a representative illustration of both the advantages and the difficulties of actually trying to manage transitions. The article ends by drawing lessons and formulating research questions for the future. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd.