In the last four years, since Austria enabled the establishment of energy communities (ECs), their numbers have rapidly increased, and their role in Austria's energy transition has been widely discussed. This study explores how storylines of ECs, as social innovations, have changed during their introduction and diffusion. We adopt a dialectic perspective of niche diffusion and discursive struggles in sustainability transitions. Analyzing newspaper articles and interviews, we reveal initial discursive struggles and the diversification into seven storylines across four contextual phases, shaped particularly by legislative frameworks and the energy crisis. Five storylines construct ECs as positive change, one as a negative force on society, and one as ambivalent. We discuss significant changes in how storylines construct ECs, focusing on justice and citizenship, the reconstruction of actor configurations, and emerging postapocalyptic storylines. This study enriches our understanding of discursive struggles around social innovations and their potential to challenge existing configurations.

中文翻译：

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将社会创新的故事情节纳入主流：奥地利能源社区的案例


过去四年来，自从奥地利建立能源共同体（EC）以来，其数量迅速增加，其在奥地利能源转型中的作用也被广泛讨论。本研究探讨了作为社会创新的 EC 的故事情节在其引入和传播过程中发生了怎样的变化。我们采用辩证的视角来看待可持续发展转型中的利基扩散和话语斗争。通过分析报纸文章和采访，我们揭示了最初的话语斗争和跨越四个背景阶段的七个故事情节的多样化，特别是受到立法框架和能源危机的影响。五个故事情节将 EC 构建为积极的变化，一个作为社会的负面力量，一个作为矛盾的。我们讨论故事情节如何构建 EC 的重大变化，重点关注正义和公民权、演员配置的重建以及新兴的后世界末日故事情节。这项研究丰富了我们对围绕社会创新的话语斗争及其挑战现有配置的潜力的理解。