Sweden’s trucking sector, which is dominated by SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), plays a pivotal role in meeting the nation’s 2045 carbon neutrality target but faces persistent barriers to adopting sustainable fuels. This study investigates how managers in Swedish trucking firms balance environmental ambitions against financial constraints and infrastructure limitations. Based on twelve semi-structured interviews across a diverse set of companies covering different areas of Sweden and a thematic analysis, grounded in Socio-Technical Transition Theory (STT), reveals three key findings:

1. Operational Viability over Ambition: While sustainability is broadly recognized as important, SMEs often subordinate it to reliability and cost concerns—especially under extreme weather or in regions with sparse charging/refueling networks.

2. Mixed Barriers and Enablers: High upfront investments, technological readiness (e.g. cold-weather battery performance), and regulatory volatility interact to shape managerial risktolerance. Inconsistent subsidies and unclear policy frameworks drive firms toward interim solutions such as biofuel retrofits or hybrid leases.

3. Infrastructure and Policy Dynamics: Uneven charging and hydrogen refueling availability (particularly outside urban centers) and shifting regulatory incentives hinder long‐term investment decisions, prompting managers to form partnerships with technical colleges, municipalities, and OEMs to share risk.

By refining STT’s focus on niche, regime, and landscape interactions, this thesis highlights how SME resource limits amplify regime inertia. It offers actionable recommendations: targeted rural infrastructure development, stable incentive schemes, and collaborative innovation hubs, to align Sweden’s policy ambitions with ground-level managerial realities