Sovacool Benjamin K, Lovell Katherine, Ting Marie Blanche
Department of Business Development and Technology, Aarhus University, Herning, Denmark.
Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), School of Business, Management, and Economics, University of Sussex, Sussex, United Kingdom.
Sci Technol Human Values. 2018 Nov;43(6):1066-1097. doi: 10.1177/0162243918768074. Epub 2018 May 1.
Large technical systems (LTS) are integral to modern lifestyles but arduous to analyze. In this paper, we advance a conceptualization of LTS using the notion of mature "phases," drawing from insights into innovation studies, science and technology studies, political science, the sociology of infrastructure, history of technology, and governance. We begin by defining LTS as a unit of analysis and explaining its conceptual utility and novelty, situating it among other prominent sociotechnical theories. Next, we argue that after LTS have moved through the (overlapping) phases proposed by Thomas Hughes of invention, expansion, growth, momentum, and style, mature LTS undergo the additional (overlapping) phases of reconfiguration, contestation (subject to pressures such as drift and crisis), and eventually stagnation and decline. We illustrate these analytical phases with historical case studies and the conceptual literature, and close by suggesting future research to refine and develop the LTS framework, particularly related to more refined typologies, temporal dimensions, and a broadening of system users. We aim to contribute to theoretical debates about the coevolution of LTS as well as empirical discussions about system-related use, sociotechnical change, and policy-making.
大型技术系统（LTS）是现代生活方式不可或缺的一部分，但却难以分析。在本文中，我们借鉴创新研究、科学技术研究、政治学、基础设施社会学、技术史和治理等领域的见解，运用成熟“阶段”的概念，对大型技术系统进行了概念化阐述。我们首先将大型技术系统定义为一种分析单元，并解释其概念效用和新颖性，将其置于其他著名的社会技术理论之中。接下来，我们认为，在大型技术系统经历了托马斯·休斯提出的发明、扩张、增长、动力和风格等（相互重叠）阶段之后，成熟的大型技术系统会经历重新配置、竞争（受到诸如漂移和危机等压力影响），最终停滞和衰退等额外的（相互重叠）阶段。我们用历史案例研究和概念文献来说明这些分析阶段，并在结尾处提出未来研究方向，以完善和发展大型技术系统框架，特别是与更精细的类型学、时间维度以及系统用户范围的拓宽相关的研究。我们旨在为有关大型技术系统共同演化的理论辩论以及有关系统相关使用、社会技术变革和政策制定的实证讨论做出贡献。
