Research Policy 37 (2008) 1436–1445 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Research Policy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/respol Rethinking the multi-level perspective of technological transitions Audley Genus a,∗ , Anne-Marie Coles b a Newcastle University Business School, 2nd Floor, Armstrong Building, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, United Kingdom b Brunel Research into Enterprise, Sustainability and Ethics, School of Business and Management, Brunel University, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, United Kingdom article info Article history: Received 9 May 2007 Received in revised form 29 January 2008 Accepted 16 May 2008 Available online 26 June 2008 Keywords: Technological change Technology policy Transition management Transition theory Multi-level perspective abstract In recent years numerous articles have been published which advocate a multi-level per- spective (MLP) for the analysis of long-term technological transitions. This paper reviews current transitions research and considers the limitations of the MLP which need to be addressed to enhance understanding of processes of innovation affecting the transforma- tion of technology and society. The paper suggests ways in which the MLP may be effectively rethought, based on more thoroughgoing application of a co-evolutionary concept of tech- nological transitions. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Two ongoing challenges for researchers and practition- ers alike concern: (a) how to improve our understanding of long-term technological change and (b) the genera- tion and refinement of perspectives and tools for the analysis of technological change, and for informing inter- ventions related to the governance and management of technological change in practice. Researching technological transitions offers the potential to provide a better under- standing of technological change, for example to analyse factors enabling or inhibiting adoption of environmentally sustainable or energy-efficient technologies. Two branches of research on transitions may be identified: (i) sys- tems in transition and (ii) transition management. In both branches a multi-level perspective (MLP) has been invoked to inform analysis of the development and entrenchment of technology in society, influenced by prior work apply- ing evolutionary theory to the management of innovation, ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 191 222 5179. E-mail addresses: audley.genus@ncl.ac.uk (A. Genus), anne-marie.coles@brunel.ac.uk (A.-M. Coles). research on systems innovations, and developments in the field of science and technology studies. However, there are questions connected with the exposition and employ- ment of the MLP which need to be addressed in order to appreciate better the merits of the perspective for the con- duct of research and for informing practice. A key question concerns whether MLP research has been conducted in a sufficiently systematic manner to enable fully developed accounts of the nature and dynamics of transitions and their effective governance. Other aspects concern the oper- ationalisation of the MLP in relation to the organisation of data collection and analysis in studies of technological change in society, and the definition of alternative tran- sition pathways by which such change may occur. With these matters in mind it is intended to subject the MLP to a critique, which will shed light on the applicability of the approach to analyse technological transitions effec- tively. The paper thus highlights certain conceptual and methodological limitations of the MLP. Further, it consid- ers how MLP research addresses the steering of technology by the State and others in society, and the relation of this to ‘bottom-up’ activities in niches of technology development, and relationships between niches and incumbent socio- technical regimes. It further considers the incrementality 0048-7333/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2008.05.006