Binder, Claudia R.2018-02-112018-02-112018-02-11200710.1016/j.jclepro.2006.08.017https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/144746This paper presents a heuristic for supporting the transition from material flow analysis to material flow management. The heuristic combines material flow analysis with a newly developed method, structural agent analysis (SAA). The latter is based on Giddens structuration theory and provides a basis for understanding the social structures restricting or enabling strategies for managing material flows. We consider the specific advantages of SAA to be that it does the following: (i) it considers the interaction and dynamics of social structure and human agency and, thus, allows for including the role of structural factors such as culture in the analysis; (ii) it provides a cross-level approach allowing the study of interferences among agent groups; and (iii) it considers the different time scales of change of social structures constraining the implementation of options for improving material flows.Material flow analysisStructural agent analysisMaterial flow managementHeuristicTransitionGiddens structuration theorytext::journal::journal article::research article