Suchergebnisse

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to point out the necessity of implementing more appropriate approaches instead of the traditional single disciplinary approaches, in order to be able to cope with the ill‐defined, highly complex problem of sustainable development in systems such as organizations or regions.Design/methodology/approachBased on empirical data concerning expert and stakeholder preferences, it is argued that research and teaching on innovation for sustainability need to be both inter‐ and transdisciplinary.FindingsHere, the approach of transdisciplinary case studies, developed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, allows appropriate integration of research and teaching activities and thus leads to mutual learning between the case study actors.Practical implicationsIn the second part of the paper, these conceptual considerations are illustrated with the so‐called Erzherzog Johann case study, an integrative research and teaching project at the University of Graz.Originality/valueIn the paper the very complex task to integrate research and teaching on sustainability‐related innovation is described and illustrated with the first transdisciplinary case‐study conducted in Austria according to the ETH approach.

Literaturangaben

PurposeThis paper aims at a better understanding of expert roles in transdisciplinary projects. Thus, the main purpose is the analysis of the roles of experts in transdisciplinary projects.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis of the ETH‐UNS case studies from the point of view of the psychology of expertise and the sociology of professions is based on findings and considerations from the psychology of expertise and the sociology of professions – as both lines of research are concerned with experts and the use of expertise. This paper focuses on projects in the framework of the so‐called transdisciplinary case study approach that has been developed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in the 1990s.FindingsIt is claimed that, firstly, system experts provide important information on the local human‐environmental system and have to be regarded as serious experts, that is knowledge specialists with a certain responsibility for information. Secondly, decision‐making experts run into problems integrating other professionals into transdisciplinary projects and should, therefore, professionalize themselves.Practical implicationsThe paper encourages the use of residents, etc. as system experts in transdisciplinary projects.Originality/valueThe roles of experts in transdisciplinary project are clarified.