FOSTERING INNOVATIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY WITH MECHANISMS FROM COMMUNITIES OF INNOVATORS By JANE ANN TALKINGTON Bachelor of Science in Marketing Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma 1990 Master of Business Administration University of Tulsa Tulsa, Oklahoma 2000 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY July 2016 FOSTERING INNOVATIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY WITH MECHANISMS FROM COMMUNITIES OF INNOVATORS Dissertation Approved: ___________________________________________ Dr. Craig Watters, Dissertation Advisor ___________________________________________ Dr. Khaled Mansy ___________________________________________ Dr. Arthur Stoecker ___________________________________________ Dr. Cosette Armstrong ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank my support networks as well as the countless people who have crossed my path who, perhaps unwittingly, contributed inspiration to my endeavors. First, thank you to my mother Patricia Jackson, the one person who has faithfully and genuinely loved me and supported me since my embryonic stages—literally and intellectually. She was an inspiration to many in my extended family—fathers, brothers, sisters, and children—who were vital through this doctoral quest. Second, my gratitude goes to Paul Hawken who so generously shared his insights through his many fabulous books and his friendship with me; you are a beacon of hope and an example of rare intellect and uncommon kindness. You inspire me. Many people crossed my path perhaps briefly, but with great impact: Sim Van der Ryn, Patrice Pike, Ray Anderson, Dr. Will Focht, Dr. Donald French, Dr. Amanda Harrist, Dr. Melanie Page, President David Schmidly, President Hargis and Mrs. Anne Hargis, President John Bardo, Dr. Harold Glasser, Michael Haskins (a kind stranger with editing skills) and my gracious, faithful friend and foe to the bitter end, President Bob of Van Kirk University. A special thanks also goes to the Wake Up & Dream Ecovillage Plan keynote speakers who graciously invested their insights with those who dared dream of the university embracing sustainability deeply in their housing models: Charles Durrett, Rick Darnaby, Daniel Greenberg, Nancy Gift, Bill Reed, Tom Kopf, Tony Layne, Fiona Cousins, and Christopher Mare. You are a dream team. And Jeff Murphy, you are my dream student who symbolizes why I write, research, and teach. I would not see the world as I do without all of you. To my committee members past and present who, by virtue of endurance and interdisciplinary tolerance, I extend sincere gratitude: Dr. Craig Watters, Dr. Art Stoecker, Dr. Khaled Mansy, Dr. Cossette Armstrong, Dr. Ken Kiser, and Dr. John Mowen. To the one person who initially encouraged me to pursue the doctoral degree and who tirelessly coached me through every valley, Dr. Nizam Najd, I am absolutely positive that I would not have persevered without you in my corner. And lastly, thank you to Sharla Helton M.D., a brilliant, amazing, and courageous person, who taught me the absolute necessity of accurate and ethical research. For you, I cross the finish line. You gave me a glimpse into the ‘real world’ that created an entirely new perspective on peer-review articles. You are the embodiment of sustainability by example of sacrificing your energies for future generations and for people living now all over the world that you will never know. In the strangest of ways, studying sustainability for a decade prepared me to be of help in your quest. Thank you all—each and every one of you—for believing in me. Acknowledgements reflect the views of the author and are not endorsed by committee members or Oklahoma State University iii DEDICATION To the sages of the twenty-first century: after years of chasing feral thoughts I captured a few with ink just to inspire you, the friends I will never meet and the university leaders for whom helping others invent sustainability is paramount. To my mother of the twentieth century: thank you for constantly telling me I could accomplish anything I set my mind to do. Acknowledgements reflect the views of the author and are not endorsed by committee members or Oklahoma State University iv Name: JANE TALKINGTON Date of Degree: JULY 2016 Title of Study: FOSTERING INNOVATIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY WITH MECHANISMS FROM COMMUNITIES OF INNOVATORS Major Field: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Abstract: Universities are positioned to play a pivotal role in educating a populous with the ability to operate the planet in accordance with sustainability principles and practices. Within their responsibility is the task to prepare citizens to operate future civilizations. This is in addition to the previous missions of educating for inquiry, scholarship, or career development. Increasingly, universities are recognizing that meaningful, deep learning happens outside the curriculum and in social settings, some of which are designed specifically to foster innovation and entrepreneurship through innovation ecosystems. The result has been the creation of live-learn dormitories, living labs, innovation campuses, corporate co-location buildings, and innovation districts. In parallel, global societies are also gradually realizing that any peaceful and prosperous society in the future will require citizens who cultivate the sustainability ethic necessary to innovate solutions to the environmental challenges and social equity problems that threaten the continuation of humanity. The challenge facing higher education then becomes the question of what new role the university can envision for itself that propels them to create or participate in the creation of a physical place with an entrepreneurial culture and a social support network capable of fostering the development of system-thinking innovators of sustainable solutions. By applying the process tracing method within a historical research methodology, this dissertation reviews past communities of innovators as found in intentional communities and places of innovation to identify the mechanisms used to approach their goals. The intent of the research is to understand more clearly how others in the past approached what was perceived as unimaginable so that this generation can build the confidence and courage to tackle humanity’s goals that now seem unachievable. This dissertation finds that those mechanisms are open source, iterative processes, and proximity. This dissertation concludes with implementation scenarios of how these mechanisms can be integrated into strategy by higher education institutions that are striving to create the environments capable of fueling the development of sustainability-oriented innovations. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 Background of the Problem .................................................................................... 4 Literature Review .................................................................................................. 10 Problem Statement ................................................................................................ 12 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................. 14 Importance of the Study ........................................................................................ 15 Primary Research Question ................................................................................... 17 Research Design .................................................................................................... 18 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................... 21 Assumptions, Limitations, Scope ................................................................... 22 Definitions of Terms ....................................................................................... 25 Summary ............................................................................................................... 26 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................................................. 28 Intentional Communities: Organization of the Literature ..................................... 30 Utopian Thinking and Higher Education ........................................................ 30 Utopian Thinking and the Built Environment ................................................ 33 Intentional Communities and Higher Education ............................................. 35 Experimental Communities ............................................................................ 40 Cohousing ....................................................................................................... 43 Ecovillages ...................................................................................................... 44 Academic Ecovillages ..................................................................................... 49 Innovation Community Prototypes ................................................................. 54 Places of Innovation: Organization of the Literature ............................................ 62 Industrial Districts and Clusters ..................................................................... 64 Innovation Cluster ................................................................................... 67 Research Parks ...............................................................................................