Metatheoretical perspectives on sustainability journeys: Evolutionary, relational and durational

Journeys to a sustainable future have become important to industry, government and research. In this paper, we examine evolutionary, relational and durational perspectives on sustainability journeys. Each perspective emphasizes different facets of sustainability – shifts in selection environments, reconfigurations of emergent networks, and intertemporal comparisons and contrasts. Drawing on our analysis, we discuss implications for sustainability policy, strategy and research.

► We examine three meta-theoretical perspectives on sustainability journeys. ► We explore the implications of each perspective for policy, research and strategy. ► We reinterpret the concept of dynamic capabilities based on the three perspectives. ► We meld actor-network theory and narrative theory to propose path creation. ► Path creation considers social and material together with past, present and future.