A framework for understanding which drivers of transformation actually matter

Thesis Series #12

After analysing 1,234 academic articles, I identified 292 distinct drivers of transformation.

The next challenge was making them usable.

I organised the evidence into four analytical levels:

1) Drivers of transformation (292)

A driver affects humans and their environment. It can be concrete, such as electric vehicles or extreme weather, or abstract, such as political ideology, pandemics, or the internet.

2) Driver clusters (32)

Related drivers that shape the same area of change are grouped. For example, machine learning and autonomous vehicles sit within artificial intelligence and automation. Global warming and extreme weather are part of climate change.

3) Driver families (13)

Clusters that operate in the same broad domain are grouped again. Artificial intelligence and internet technologies fall within the scope of computing and connectivity. Pollution and environmental degradation fall within environmental conditions.

4) Transformative forces (5)

At the highest level, driver families aggregate into five fundamental forces shaping long-term transformation: Society, Power, Innovation, Nature, and Economy. Together, these form the SPINE framework:

This structure provides an empirically grounded way to move from hundreds of fragmented drivers to a small number of forces that executives can reason about, prioritise, and align against.

With this in place, I had two core inputs for testing the central proposition of my PhD:

1) How market dominance can be defined and measured (see my prior posts)

2) How external drivers of transformation can be systematically organised (this post)

This framework became the foundation for what I later developed as Thematic Strategy.

I will explain that step next week.

Be sure to follow me, Dr. Ian Hallett, so it shows up in your feed.

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This post is part of a series of notes I am writing about my PhD thesis, to share how I approached it and what I learned. You can see the entire series on my website.