To Örebro University

This thesis investigates net-zero transition acceleration challenges in hard-to-abate industries, focusing on heavy-duty freight transport. It examines how incumbent actors, carbon lock-in, and systemic inertia shape decarbonisation progress, which is less likely to result from Schumpeterian creative destruction and more dependent on the reconfiguration of existing socio-technical systems. This recon-figuration perspective forms the theoretical foundation of the thesis and extends to examine the conditions and mechanisms of endogenous socio-technical change processes.

The research integrates organisational studies into transitions research to analyse five acceleration challenges: whole systems change, multi-system dynamics, decline and resistance, shifts in demand patterns, and governance. Empirical insights come from case studies of the European heavy-duty vehicle sector and Swedish electrification and Circular Economy initiatives. Using a multi-method and mixed-method approach, the thesis combines interviews, surveys, and secondary data analysis to examine these challenges for heavy-duty freight transport.

This research offers theoretical contributions to better capture system reconfigurations and the role of incumbents in such processes. It also informs the conceptualisation of three additional acceleration challenges and proposes actionable insights for policymakers, including integrated, multi-system governance approaches and sufficiency-oriented decarbonisation planning.