Modern complex safety-critical socio-technical systems (STSs) operate in an environment that requires high levels of human-machine interaction. Given the potential for catastrophic events , understanding human errors is a critical research area spanning disciplines such as management science, cognitive engineering, resilience engineering, and systems theory. However, a research gap remains when researching how errors impact system performance from a systemic perspective. This dissertation employs a systematic methodology and develops models that explore the relationship between errors and system performance, considering both macro-organizational and micro-worker perspectives. In Essay 1, the focus is on how firms respond to serious errors (catastrophic events), by exploring the oscillation behavior associated with the organizational learning and forgetting theory. The proposed simulation model contributes to the organizational science literature with a comprehensive approach that assesses the firm's response time to "serious" errors when the firm has a focus on safety with established safety thresholds. All of these considerations have subsequent impact on future performance. Essay 2 explores the relationship between safety-critical system's workers' workload, human error, and automation reliance for the Belgian railway traffic control center. Key findings include a positive relationship between traffic controller performance and workload, and an inverted U-shaped relationship with automation usage. This research offers new insights into the effects of cognitive workload and automation reliance in safety-critical STSs. Essay 3 introduces a calibrated System Dynamics model, informed by empirical data and existing theories on workload suboptimality. This essay contributes to the managerial understanding of workload management, particularly the feedback mechanism between operators' workload and human errors, which is driven by overload and underload thresholds. The model serves as a practical tool for managerial practitioners to estimate the likelihood of human errors based on workload distributions. Overall, this dissertation presents an interdisciplinary and pragmatic approach, blending theoretical and empirical methodologies. Its broad impacts extend across management science, cognitive engineering, and resilience engineering, contributing significantly to the understanding and management of safety-critical socio-technical systems. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation is motivated by the increasing autonomy in infrastructure systems designed to enhance safety performance. Yet paradoxically, we continue to witness system failures leading to catastrophic disasters. High-profile incidents such as the Metro-North train derailment in New York City, the Boeing 737 MAX plane crashes, and the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle accidents highlight this contradiction. This research delves into safety-critical systems where the intricate collaboration between humans and machines is crucial, and where even minor human errors can lead to disastrous consequences. This dissertation is presented in three parts. In the first part I examine how firms react to serious errors. The study focuses on their learning processes following safety incidents and the potential for these lessons to be forgotten over time. I introduced a simulation model grounded in the organizational science literature, offering deeper insights into how companies respond to errors, including changes in safety focus, safety culture, and policy, and the impact of these factors on future company's performance. The second part shifts to a worker-centered perspective, exploring the relationship between workload, performance, and automation usage among traffic controllers. The findings indicate that while performance can improve with an increase in workload up to a certain threshold, excessive reliance on automation may lead to a decline in performance. This part of the study sheds light on how cognitive workload and technology usage influence operators in safety-critical roles. The final part of the dissertation presents another simulation model, this time focusing on how workload, and the resulting stress and boredom due to workload, influence the likelihood of errors. Utilizing real operational data from the Belgian railway transportation system, this model aids managers in understanding how to optimally balance workloads to minimize error risks. Overall, this dissertation takes an interdisciplinary and pragmatic approach, merging theoretical concepts with empirical data. Its extensive impact spans management science, cognitive engineering, and resilience engineering, significantly enhancing our comprehension and management of safety-critical socio-technical systems.

This dissertation analyses how district heating systems in the Stockholm region have evolved and developed during the period 1978-2012. The thesis comprises four papers analyzing how district heating has been handled in municipal and regional planning. The examination explores how actors have worked together to create regional, interconnected district heating systems with economic, technological and environmental benefits. An investigation is undertaken on the effects of liberalization (and the subsequent commercialization of the district heating market) on the planning and cooperation of these systems. The impact on the present and future district heating market is also discussed. The dissertation shows that energy companies cooperated on a regional level to create interconnected regional systems. Through openness, the capacity to make high-level decisions and municipal legitimacy, the regional strategies could be implemented at the municipal level. This can be considered a form of regional planning from below that developed through the initiative of the municipalities. The regional energy planning authority Stoseb could therefore succeed where other regional planning authorities in the Stockholm region have previous failed, to gather and unite the municipalities into a regional force. This cooperation changed around the time of the liberalization of the energy market in 1996, which led to sales of several municipal energy companies and a subsequent concentration of ownership in the region. The organizational distance between energy companies and municipalities has increased and affected the communication between them. Regional cooperation could not be maintained and this has meant that opportunities and tools to implement energy strategies today are weaker than earlier. This is a case of ‘regional splintering’. The liberalization of the energy market thus had a major impact on the district heating sector. / Denna sammanläggningsavhandling analyserar hur fjärrvärmesystemen iStockholmsregionen vuxit och förändrats, mellan 1978 och 2012. Avhandlingen består av fyra artiklar som analyserar hur fjärrvärme hanterats i kommunal och regional planering, hur aktörer samarbetat för att skapa regionala, sammankopplade fjärrvärmesystem med ekonomiska, tekniska och miljömässiga vinster som följd, hur elavregleringen, och den påföljande kommersialiseringen av fjärrvärmemarknaden, påverkade planering och samverkan kring dessa system, samt fjärrvärmemarknadens nuläge och framtid. Avhandlingen visar att energibolagen samarbetat på regional nivå för att skapa sammanhängande regionala system, genom öppet samarbete och att man tack vare hög beslutskompetens kunnat implementera de regionala strategierna på kommunal nivå. Det var en form av regional planering underifrån, då initiativet kom från kommunerna och samarbetsorganet lyckades med vad regionala planorgan haft svårt att genomföra under flertalet decennier i Stockholmsregion, nämligen att samla och ena kommunerna kring strategier som implementerats. Detta samarbete förändrades vid tiden runt liberaliseringen av energimarknaden, som genomfördes 1996, vilket ledde till försäljning av flertalet kommunala energibolag och en efterföljande koncentration av ägandeskapet i regionen. Det organisatoriska avståndet mellan energibolag och kommun har därmed blivit längre och påverkat kommunikationen dem emellan. Det regionala samarbetet kunde därmed inte fortsätta som tidigare och detta gör att möjligheterna och verktyg att implementera regionala energistrategier idag är svaga. Detta var ett fall av ”regional splintering”. Liberaliseringen av energimarknaden hade således stor påverkan påfjärrvärmesektorn.

Based upon perspectives and concepts from social and historical research on technical systems, this dissertation describes and analyses events and processes relating to the dramatic change in television in Western Europe during the 1980s and early 1990s. In particular, it focuses on how Swedish television, conceived as a large socio-tecnical system, has shifted from a traditional 'public service' system to a more open and mixed system. In addition to traditional public television broadcasting, it has now come to encompass several commercial channels distributed through an expanding combination of technical and market alternatives, including satellite television. The study traces the multiple ways in which socio-historical processes and contingencies have shaped the television system in Sweden. The most detailed historical descriptions and analyses focus on the entrepreneurial activities of the Swedish firm, Industriförvaltning AB Kinnevik, documenting the introduction of the satellite channel TV3 in Sweden and the related expansion of the system. The entrepreneurial actions of Kinnevik in establishing the new satellite channel TV3 are analysed against the background of (1) the characteristics of the traditional Swedish radio and TV broadcasting system, (2) the development of cable television in Sweden, and (3) the broad history of satellite television. Emphasis is placed on how and why it was possible for a new actor to successfully challenge, gain access to, and help transform a well-established system that had remained relatively stable for a long time. This raises attendant questions of timing. How do we account for and explain the relative stability of this system for such a long period? Why did radical change occur at a particular time and not before or after? Whereas the empirical material concerning the activities of Kinnevik in relation to its entrance on the television market covers the period between 1984 and 1991, the study in general addresses developments throughout the twentieth century and, occasionally, even further back in history. The focus is thus on the system as a whole, rather than on only one of its components. A number of conclusions are drawn from the study concerning both the construction of new systems and the reconstruction of established systems. Two major conclusions can be mentioned here. (1) First, the historical material confirms the necessity of collective action in large-scale technology-based entrepreneurial action. (2) Second, the study also shows that there is nothing necessary or inevitable about the development of technologies/technological systems, even though they are subject to a high degree of path-dependence. / <p>The electronic version of the printed dissertation is a corrected version where all spelling and grammatical errors are corrected.</p>

Research questions:  How can the Aspvik model be useful for the traditionally functioning water and sewage industry? What are the main challenges for regime actors to implement systems similar to those derived from the Aspvik model? Purpose: The purpose of the study is two-fold. Firstly, we intend to investigate system development and entrepreneurship from below in a local project in the water and sewage industry and its business model. Secondly, the study aims to provide an understanding of how the organization and the development process differ between the local Aspvik project and the existing regime within the water and sewage industry. Method: The study was of a qualitative nature based on an abductive approach. The theoretical framework was based on scientific articles and publications as well as books. The empirical data collection consisted of the collection of primary and secondary data, of which primary data was obtained through a total of 13 semi-structured interviews and secondary data via web pages, public print (laws and regulations) and other sources. A thematic analysis was performed based on the theoretical framework and the empirical data. Conclusion: The Aspvik model can generate usefulness as it contributes by providing a businesslike approach with transparency and visualization of what opportunities the industry actors have and what it may cost. With transparency, the current problems and bottlenecks in the industry became more evident. There are major environmental benefits in increasing the rate of development of the municipal water and sewage grid. It is mainly the Water Services Act, section 6 in particular, which is the main challenge for achieving a more efficient expansion of the water and sewage grid, both in terms of resources and time. It may require organizational change at the regime level, this in order to handle several projects simultaneously, or to provide increased support for private initiatives similar to the Aspvik project. / Problemställning: Hur kan Aspviksmodellen generera nytta för den traditionellt fungerande VA-branschen? Vilka är de huvudsakliga utmaningarna för regimaktörer att implementera system liknande det som härrör från Aspviksmodellen? Syfte: Studiens syfte är tvådelat. För det första ämnar vi undersöka systemuppbyggnad och entreprenörskap från grunden i ett lokalt VA- projekt och dess affärsmodell. För det andra syftar studien till att ge förståelse för hur organisationen och VA-utbyggnadsprocessen skiljer sig mellan det lokala VA-projektet och den befintliga regimen. Metod: Studien var av kvalitativ karaktär med utgångspunkt i en abduktiv ansats. Den teoretiska referensramen var baserad på vetenskapliga publikationer och böcker samt studentlitteratur. Den empiriska datainsamlingen utgjordes av insamling av primära och sekundära data, varav primärdata erhållits genom totalt 13 semistrukturerade intervjuer och sekundärdata via webbsidor, offentligt tryck (lagar och förordningar) och övriga källor. Utifrån den teoretiska referensramen och den empiriska data genomfördes en tematisk analys. Slutsats: Aspviksmodellen kan generera nytta då den bidrar med att tillhandahålla en affärsmässig strategi med ökad transparens och visualisering över vilka möjligheter branschaktörer har och vad det kan kosta. Med transparens blev rådande problem och flaskhalsar i branschen mer tydliga. Det finns stora miljömässiga fördelar med att öka utbyggnadstakten av det kommunala VA-nätet. Från regimens synvinkel är det huvudsakligen vattentjänstlagen i sig, 6 § i synnerhet som utgör en utmaning mot en effektivare utbyggnad av VA-nätet, både ekonomiskt och tidsmässigt. För att hantera det krävs någon organisatorisk förändring på regimnivå för att kunna hantera flera projekt samtidigt, alternativt att från regimens sida ge ett ökat stöd till privata initiativ i samma slag som Aspviksprojektet.

The increase and changes in the demand for emergency care require pro-active responses from the designers and implementers of the emergency care system. The role of Emergency Care Practitioner (ECP) was introduced in England to improve the delivery of emergency care in the community. The role was evaluated using cost-benefit approach and compared with other existing emergency care roles. An analysis of the cognitive elements (situation awareness (SA) and naturalistic decision making (NDM)) of the ECP job was proposed considering the mental efforts involved. While the cost-benefit approach can justify further spending on developing the role, a cognitive approach can provide the evidence in ensuring the role is developed to fulfil its purpose. A series of studies were carried out to describe SA and NDM amongst ECPs in an ambulance service in England. A study examined decision-making process using Critical Decision Method interviews which revealed the main processes in making decision and how information was used to develop SA. Based on the findings, the subsequent studies focus on the non-clinical factors that influence SA and decision making. Data from a scoping study were used to develop a socio-technical systems framework based on existing models and frameworks. The framework was then used to guide further exploration of SA and NDM. Emergency calls that were assigned to ECPs over a period of 8 months were analysed. The analysis revealed system-related influences on the deployment of ECPs. Interviews with the ECPs enabled the identification of influences on their decision-making with respect to patient care. Goal-directed task analysis was used to identify the decision points and information requirements of the ECPs. The findings and the framework were then evaluated via a set of studies based on an ethnographic approach. Participant observations with 13 ECPs were carried out. Field notes provided further insight into the characteristics of jobs assigned to the ECPs. It was possible to map the actual information used by the ECP to their information needs. The sources of the information were classified according to system levels. A questionnaire based on factors influencing decision-making was tested with actual cases. It was found that the items in the questionnaire could reliably measure factors that influence decision-making. Overall, the studies identify factors that have direct and indirect influences on the ECP job. A coherent model for the whole emergency care systems can be developed to build safety into the care delivery process. Further development of the ECP role need to consider the support for cognitive tasks in light of the findings reported in this thesis.

Por meio do macrossistema elétrico brasileiro, essa pesquisa analisa o atrelamento de usos do território a interesses corporativistas. Esse sistema técnico passa por um processo de privatização a partir da década de 1990, acompanhado da inflexão das funções do Estado. Os planejamentos territorial e setorial são transformados, atrelando ainda mais a dinâmica territorial aos desígnios dos agentes privados. A energia elétrica passa a ser valorizada mais como bem mercantil do que como serviço público e questão estratégica nacional, o que traz mudanças ao significado das ações, dos objetos e, consequentemente, do próprio território. Mudanças essas realizadas por um país subdesenvolvido, onde as necessidades elementares da população não são plenamente garantidas. Tais questões são analisadas e discutidas, assumindo como princípio metodológico o espaço geográfico como instância social. / By means of the Brazilian Electric Macro System, this research analyses the link between uses of territory and corporative interests. This technical system goes through a process of privatization since the 1990 decade, accompanied by the inflection of the State functions. The territorial and sector planning are transformed, linking the territorial dynamics to the private agent\'s purposes even more. The electric power starts being valorized more as a mercantile asset than public service and national strategic matter, what brings changes to the meaning of the actions, to the objects and, as a result, to the territory itself. Such changes are made by an undeveloped country, where the basic necessities of the population are not fully guaranteed. These questions are analyzed and discussed, taking as a methodological principle the geographical space as a social instance.

abstract: The Energiewende aims to drastically reduce Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions, without relying on nuclear power, while maintaining a secure and affordable energy supply. Since 2000 the country’s renewable-energy share has increased exponentially, accounting in 2017 for over a third of Germany's gross electricity consumption. This unprecedented achievement is the result of policies, tools, and institutional arrangements intended to steer society to a low-carbon economy. Despite its resounding success in renewable-energy deployment, the Energiewende is not on track to meet its decarbonization goals. Energiewende rules and regulations have generated numerous undesired consequences, and have cost much more than anticipated, a burden borne primarily by energy consumers. Why has the Energiewende not only made energy more expensive, but also failed to bring Germany closer to its decarbonization goals? I analyzed the Energiewende as a complex socio-technical system, examining its legal framework and analyzing the consequences of successive regulations; identifying major political and energy players and the factors that motivated them to pursue socio-technical change; and documenting the political trends and events in which the Energiewende is rooted and which continue to shape it. I analyzed the dynamics and the loopholes that created barriers to transition, pushed the utility sector to the brink of dissolution, and led to such undesirable outcomes as negative wholesale prices and forced exports of electricity to Germany’s European neighbors. Thirty high-level energy experts and stakeholders were interviewed to find out how the best-informed members of German society perceive the Energiewende. Surprisingly, although they were highly critical of the way the transition has unfolded, most were convinced that the transition would eventually succeed. But their definitions of success did not always depend on achieving carbon-mitigation targets. Indeed, Germany jeopardizes the achievement of these targets by changing too many policy and institutional variables at too fast a pace. Good intentions and commitment are not enough to create economies based on intermittent energy sources: they will also require intensive grid expansion and breakthroughs in storage technology. The Energiewende demonstrates starkly that collective action driven by robust political consensus is not sufficient for steering complex socio-technical systems in desired directions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Sustainability 2018

Sistemas de saúde têm sido cada vez mais exigidos a serem mais eficientes, o que encorajou o uso de iniciativas de melhoria de processos. A partir de então, a Produção Enxuta (PE) surgiu como uma abordagem amplamente utilizada. Alguns resultados insatisfatórios da PE podem ser, parcialmente, explicados pela falta de considerar a complexidade dos serviços de saúde. Os sistemas de saúde são classificados como sistemas sócio-técnicos complexos (SSTC) devido à incerteza, diversidade e interações não-lineares. De acordo com a literatura, as implementações de Lean em serviços de saúde geralmente envolvem Kaizen, que tende a produzir ganhos significativos de eficiência e segurança através de mudanças relativamente pequenas e localizadas. Contudo, as melhorias locais podem implicar resultados globais indesejados, uma vez que as interações entre os elementos de sistemas complexos podem não ser lineares. Para isso, este trabalho desenvolve e aplica uma framework que visa avaliar projetos de melhoria em SSTC. O estudo foi realizado em uma unidade de internação de um hospital escola. As interações entre os projetos foram modeladas através do desenvolvimento de um diagrama de loop causal, o qual representou variáveis relacionadas a cinco projetos de melhoria analisados e um modelo FRAM. Os projetos também foram avaliados quanto ao seu impacto no sistema e sua adesão a boas práticas em Kaizen, identificadas na literatura. A framework demonstrou-se eficaz em elencar as variáveis para que possam influenciar positivamente os resultados dos projetos e embasar recomendações para a condução de novos projetos de melhoria por meio de uma visão sistêmica. / Healthcare systems have been increasingly demanded to be more efficient, which has encouraged the use of process improvement initiatives. From these, lean production has emerged as a widely used approach. Some disappointing results of lean production can be partially due to the lack of consideration of the complexity of healthcare. Health systems are classified as Complex socio-technical systems (CSTS) due to the uncertainty, diversity, and non-linear interactions. According to the literature, the implementation of Lean in healthcare usually involves Kaizen, which tends to produce significant gains in efficiency and safety through relatively small and localized changes. However, local improvements may imply unwanted overall results, since interactions between elements of complex systems may not be linear. For this, this work develops and applies a framework that aims to evaluate improvement projects in CSTC. The study was performed in an in-patient surgical ward of a teaching hospital. The interactions between the projects were modelled through the development of a causal-loop diagram, which accounted for variables related to all five projects, and a FRAM model. The projects were also evaluated as to their impact on the system and their adherence to good Kaizen practices identified in the literature. The framework proved to be effective in highlighting the variables so that they can positively influence the projects results and support recommendations for conducting new improvement projects through a systemic view.

<p>Su&scaron;tina istraživanja u doktorskoj disertaciji je konkretna<br />upotreba matematičkog modela matrica u fazama<br />dijagnostike kao i izbor optimalnih parametara stanja ma&scaron;ina<br />pri radu i otkazu sastavnih komponenata ma&scaron;inskih sistema<br />(robota-manipulator, kompresora i pumpe). Takođe,<br />posredstvom matrica izvr&scaron;en je izbor održavanja sve u cilju<br />određivanja sigurnosti i funkcionisanja sastavnih<br />komponenti ma&scaron;inskih sistema.<br />Krajni cilj uspe&scaron;nosti modela matrica pri pocesu analize<br />dijagnostike i održavanja jeste da se izvr&scaron;i izbor najboljeg<br />re&scaron;enja ili najpoželjnije varijante koja će povisiti nivo<br />pouzdanosti čime će uticati na budući proces eksploatacije<br />ma&scaron;ine. Dati model matrica, kao i softverskih alata,<br />predstavljeni su kao modeli proračuna, dijagnostike,<br />održavanja i pouzdanosti ma&scaron;inskih sistema. Predstavljene<br />matrice su univerzalnog karaktera iz razloga &scaron;to se mogu<br />primeniti kako na jednostavne, tako i na složene ma&scaron;inske<br />sisteme, bez obzira na dimenzije komponenti ma&scaron;inskih<br />sistema i njihova kretanja.</p> / <p>The essence of research in his doctoral dissertation is the use<br />of a concrete mathematical model matrix phases of<br />diagnostics as the choice of optimal parameters of the state<br />machines at work and cancellation of the constituent<br />components of mechanical systems (robot-manipulator,<br />compressor and pumps). Also, through the matrix have been<br />selected maintenance of everything in order to determine the<br />security and functioning of the components of the mechanical<br />systems.<br />Final goal of model performance matrix analysis underway in<br />of diagnostics and maintenance is to make the selection of the<br />best solutions and most preferably variants that will increase<br />the level of reliability which will affect the future process of<br />exploitation of machines. Give a model matrix, as well as the<br />software tools are presented as models of the calculation,<br />diagnostics, maintenance and reliability of mechanical<br />systems. The presented matrices are universal character for<br />the reason that can be applied both on the simple and on<br />complex mechanical systems, regardless of the dimensions of<br />the components of mechanical systems and their movements.</p>

1. Contextual outline of the PhD Research Climate change is today often seen as one of the most challenging issue that our civilisation will have to face during the 21st century. This is especially so now that the most recent scientific data have led to the conclusion that the globally averaged net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming (IPCC 2007, p. 5) and that continued greenhouse gas emissions at or above current rates would cause further warming (IPCC, 2007 p. 13). This unequivocal link between climate change and anthropogenic activities requires an urgent, world-wide shift towards a low carbon economy (STERN 2006 p. iv) and coordinated policies and measures to manage this transition. The climate issue is undoubtedly a typical policy question and as such, is considered amenable to economic scrutiny. Indeed, in today’s world economics is inevitable when it comes to arbitrages in the field of policy making. From the very beginning of international talks on climate change, up until the most recent discussions on a post-Kyoto international framework, economic arguments have turned out to be crucial elements of the analysis that shapes policy responses to the climate threat. This can be illustrated by the prominent role that economics has played in the different analyses produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to assess the impact of climate change on society. The starting point and the core idea of this PhD research is the long-held observation that the threat of climate change calls for a change of climate in economics. Borrowing from the jargon used in climate policy, adaptation measures could also usefully target the academic discipline of economics. Given that inherent characteristics of the climate problem (e.g. complexity, irreversibility, deep uncertainty, etc.) challenge core economic assumptions, mainstream economic theory does not appear as appropriately equipped to deal with this crucial issue. This makes that new assumptions and analyses are needed in economics in order to comprehend and respond to the problem of climate change. In parallel (and without environmental considerations being specifically the driving force to it), the mainstream model in economics has also long been (and still is) strongly criticised and disputed by numerous scholars - both from within and outside the field of economics. For the sake of functionality, these criticisms - whether they relate to theoretical inconsistencies or are empirically-based - can be subsumed as all challenging part of the Cartesian/Newtonian legacy of economics. This legacy can be shown to have led to a model imprinted with what could be called “mechanistic reductionism”. The mechanistic side refers to the Homo oeconomicus construct while reductionism refers to the quest for micro-foundations materialised with the representative agent hypothesis. These two hypotheses constitute, together with the conjecture of perfect markets, the building blocks of the framework of general equilibrium economics. Even though it is functional for the purpose of this work to present them separately, the flaws of economics in dealing with the specificities of the climate issue are not considered independent from the fundamental objections made to the theoretical framework of mainstream economics. The former only make the latter seem more pregnant while the current failure of traditional climate policies informed by mainstream economics render the need for complementary approaches more urgent. 2. Overview of the approach and its main insights for climate policy Starting from this observation, the main objective of this PhD is thus to assess the implications for climate policy that arise from adopting an alternative analytical economic framework. The stance is that the coupling of insights from the framework of evolutionary economics with the perspective of ecological economics provides a promising way forward both theoretically as well as on a more applied basis with respect to a better comprehension of the socioeconomic aspects related to the climate problem. As claimed in van den Bergh (2007, p. 521), ecological economics and evolutionary economics “share many characteristics and can be combined in a fruitful way" - which renders the coupling approach both legitimate and promising. The choice of an evolutionary line of thought initially stems from its core characteristic: given its focus on innovation and system change it provides a useful approach to start with for assessing and managing the needed transition towards a low carbon economy. Besides, its shift of focus towards a better understanding of economic dynamics together with its departure from the perfect rationality hypothesis renders evolutionary economics a suitable theoretical complement for designing environmental policies. The notions of path-dependence and lock-in can be seen as the core elements from this PhD research. They arise from adopting a framework which is founded on a different view of individual rationality and that allows for richer and more complex causalities to be accounted for. In a quest for surmounting the above-mentioned problem of reductionism, our framework builds on the idea of ‘multi-level selection’. This means that our analytical framework should be able to accommodate not only for upward but also for downward causation, without giving analytical priority to any level over the other. One crucial implication of such a framework is that the notion of circularity becomes the core dynamic, highlighting the importance of historicity, feedbacks and emergent properties. More precisely, the added value of the perspective adopted in this PhD research is that it highlights the role played by inertia and path-dependence. Obviously, it is essential to have a good understanding of the underlying causes of that inertia prior to devising on how to enforce a change. Providing a clear picture of the socio-economic processes at play in shaping socio-technical systems is thus a necessary first step in order to usefully complement policy-making in the field of energy and climate change. In providing an analytical basis for this important diagnosis to be performed, the use of the evolutionary framework sheds a new light on the transition towards low-carbon socio-technical systems. The objective is to suggest strategies that could prove efficient in triggering the needed transition such as it has been the case in past “lock-in” stories. Most notably, the evolutionary framework allows us to depict the presence of two sources of inertia (i.e at the levels of individuals through “habits” and at the level of socio-technical systems) that mutually reinforce each other in a path-dependent manner. Within the broad perspective on path dependence and lock-in, this PhD research has first sketched the implications for climate policy of applying the concept of ‘technological lock-in’ in a systemic perspective. We then investigated in more details the notion of habits. This is important as the ‘behavioural’ part of the lock-in process, although explicitly acknowledged in the pioneer work of Paul David (David, 1985, p. 336), has been neglected in most of subsequent analyses. Throughout this study, the notion of habits has been studied at both the theoretical and applied level of analysis as well as from an empirical perspective. As shown in the first chapters of the PhD, the advantage of our approach is that it can incorporate theories that so far have been presented opposite, partial and incomplete perspectives. For instance, it is shown that our evolutionary approach not only is able to provide explanation to some of the puzzling questions in economics (e.g. the problem of strong reciprocity displayed by individual in anonymous one-shot situations) but also is very helpful in bringing a complementary explanation with respect to the famous debate on the ‘no-regret’ emission reduction potential which agitates the experts of climate policy. An emission reduction potential is said to be "no regret" when the costs of implementing a measure are more than offset by the benefits it generates such as, for instance, reduced energy bills. In explaining why individuals do not spontaneously implement those highly profitable energy-efficient investments , it appears that most prior analyses have neglected the importance of non-economic obstacle. They are often referred to as “barriers” and partly relate to the ‘bounded rationality’ of economic agent. As developed in the different chapters of this PhD research, the framework of evolutionary economics is very useful in that it is able to provide a two-fold account (i.e. relying on both individual and socio-technical sources of inertia) of this limited rationality that prevent individuals to act as purely optimising agents. Bearing this context in mind, the concept of habits, as defined and developed in this study, is essential in analysing the determinants of energy consumption. Indeed, this concept sheds an insightful light on the puzzling question of why energy consumption keeps rising even though there is an evident increase of awareness and concern about energy-related environmental issues such as climate change. Indeed, if we subscribe to the idea that energy-consuming behaviours are often guided by habits and that deeply ingrained habits can become “counter-intentional”, it then follows that people may often display “locked-in” practices in their daily energy consumption behaviour. This hypothesis has been assessed in our empirical analysis whose results show how the presence of strong energy-consuming habitual practices can reduce the effectiveness of economic incentives such as energy subsidies. One additional delicate factor that appears crucial for our purpose is that habits are not fully conscious forms of behaviours. This makes that individuals do not really see habits as a problem given that it is viewed as easily changed. In sum, based on our evolutionary account of the situation, it follows that, to be more efficient, climate policies would have to both shift the incumbent carbon-based socio-technical systems (for it to shape decisions towards a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions) and also deconstruct habits that this same socio-technical has forged with time (as increased environmental awareness and intentions formulated accordingly are not sufficient in the presence of strong habits). Accordingly, decision-makers should design measures (e.g. commitment strategies, niche management, etc.) that, as explained in this research, specifically target those change-resisting factors and their key features. This is essential as these factors tend to reduce the efficiency of traditional instruments. Micro-level interventions are thus needed as much as macro-level ones. For instance, it is often the case that external improvements of energy efficiency do not lead to lower energy consumption due to the rebound effect arising from unchanged energy-consuming habits. Bearing this in mind and building on the insights from the evolutionary approach, policy-makers should go beyond the mere subsidisation of technologies. They should instead create conditions enabling the use of the multi-layered, cumulative and self-reinforcing character of economic change highlighted by evolutionary analyses. This means supporting both social and physical technologies with the aim of influencing the selection environment so that only the low-carbon technologies and practices will survive. Mentioned references: David, P. A. (1985), Clio and the economics of QWERTY, American Economic Review 75/2: 332–337. IPCC, 2007, ‘Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis’, Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 996 pp. Stern, N., 2006, ‘Stern Review: The economics of Climate Change’, Report to the UK Prime Minister and Chancellor, London, 575 p. (www.sternreview.org.uk) van den Bergh, J.C.J.M., 2007, ‘Evolutionary thinking in environmental economics’, Journal of Evolutionary Economics 17(5): 521-549.