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Review of Regional Research
Published in: Review of Regional Research 2/2017

04-10-2017 | Original Paper

The raise of publications on sustainability—a case study in Germany

Authors: Thomas Brenner, Gesa Pflitsch

Published in: Review of Regional Research | Issue 2/2017

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Abstract

The number of scientific publications containing the words “sustainability” or “sustainable” has increased tremendously over the last years, but their origins in Germany are not equally distributed in space. The aim of the paper is to find out why sustainability research occurs strongly in some places and not in others. Four potential external influences on the choice of a scientist’s research topic are considered: 1) the interaction with the regional economy, 2) the attitude of the regional population, 3) path dependence in science as well as 4) the organizational circumstances provided by the university. In a mixed-method approach, regression analyses are complemented by qualitative interviews with scientists. The results show that the decision to conduct research on sustainability is in most cases based on a more private level. However, the perceived attitude towards sustainability in the broader public and in the researcher’s local surrounding also seem to be important.
previous article The role of higher education institutions in regional transition paths towards sustainability

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Appendix
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Metadata
Title
The raise of publications on sustainability—a case study in Germany
Authors
Thomas Brenner
Gesa Pflitsch
Publication date
04-10-2017
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Review of Regional Research / Issue 2/2017
Print ISSN: 0173-7600
Electronic ISSN: 1613-9836
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10037-017-0119-6

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