Turning Good into Gold: A Comparative Study of Two Environmental Invention Networks

Abstract

This article proposes three states in an actor-network and a global/local distinction among actants. This theoretical framework is applied to two invention networks: one created by an inventor of solar heating systems and another created by a designer who wanted to create an environmentally sustainable furniture fabric. Both solar inventor and fabric designer wanted to develop technologies that would improve the environment and also make money. The article concludes by considering whether invention networks that intend to turn “good into gold” have to evolve a shared representation or whether it is sufficient for a new design to serve as a boundary object for actants.