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This study proposes an analytical approach to niche-regime-interactive learning, taking an inter-organisational-network-learning perspective. This approach is illustrated empirically with a network-learning episode in which several actors engage with each other for the marketing of local products in supermarkets. Its novelty is two-fold: 1) it integrates the notion of learner levels into the MLP, differentiating between learning-in and -by regime; 2) it proposes a different understanding of learning loops than usually found in ST studies, by considering them as encompassing both processes and outcomes. The paper makes both theoretical and empirical contributions: 1) it helps to elaborate multi-stakeholder learning; 2) it enables capturing learning dynamics within and between sub-system and system levels; 3) it helps to elucidate knowledge-power issues learning is subjected to; 4) it elucidates the value of this network perspective empirically, illustrating its descriptive and explanatory power in helping to further the knowledge on learning at the regime level.

Il existe de nombreuses manières de concevoir la transition écologique et sociale, et de les ordonner les unes par rapport aux autres. Du point de vue heuristique, une façon commode de les penser consiste à les ranger le long d’un spectre dont les extrémités sont incarnées respectivement par l’État et par la société, dans un cadre de pensée politique qui conçoit celui-ci et celle-là comme des instances séparées l’une de l’autre (Castoriadis, 2007). D’un côté, il y aurait une transition « par le haut », à partir de l’État ou du centre, par le recours aux outils de la réglementation juridique, des incitants économiques (taxes et subsides) ou de la planification. De l’autre côté, se situerait la transition « par le bas », à partir d’initiatives locales conduites par des hommes et des femmes ordinaires, dans des contextes spécifiques, le plus souvent à petite échelle. Entre les deux, il y aurait place pour une transition par les mécanismes du marché, sous la forme d’une « croissance verte » ou d’un « capitalisme vert », de la responsabilité sociétale des entreprises ou de l’investissement socialement responsable.

Food retailers are powerful actors of the agro-industrial food system. They exert strong lock-in effects that hinder transitions towards more sustainable agri-food systems. Indeed, their marketing practices generally result in excluding the most sustainable food products, such as local, low-input, small-scale farmers’ products. Recently in Belgium, several initiatives have been created to enable the introduction of local products on supermarket shelves. In this article, we study three of those initiatives to analyse if the development of local sourcing in supermarkets opens up an opportunity for a transition towards more sustainable agri-food systems. We conceptualise transitions as a shift in governance and ethical values and adopt a pragmatist approach of ethics combined with the systemic perspective of transition studies, to evaluate the impact of these initiatives. Our analysis shows that they mainly contribute to the reproduction of the incumbent agri-food system. It also highlights that first, to be a driver for sustainability transitions, food ethics need to be systemic i.e. relate to a systemic understanding of problems and perspective of sustainability, including social justice. And second, it highlights that governance arrangements involving not only representative organisations of the various agri-food and non-agricultural actors, but also actors upholding ethical values that are currently missing in conventional supply chains and representing excluded and marginalised interests, favour the uptake of such systemic ethics by incumbent actors. Hence, systemic ethics and inclusive governance are key features for initiatives to contribute to a sustainability transition.

In order to create and assess real and long-term transformations in agri-food systems it is argued that it is necessary to examine how existing power relations become reconfigured. The paper will, from a comparative perspective, first consider this premise by exploring a revised conceptual basis for both understanding and considering transformations in contemporary food systems and their changing power relations. This will build upon current transition theory and postulate a dynamic framework for understanding the existing power relations in agri-food systems. It will be argued that existing power relations are subject to considerable endogenous and exogenous sets of vulnerabilities, which in turn create conditions for potential transformations over time and space. These transformations are also fuelled by broader socio-political shifts in wider society associated with the politics of consumption and care, and the development of social as well as technical innovations which re-connect urban and rural social actions with regard to food and agriculture. Three arenas are chosen as examples of their strong interactions and transformative potentials with the dominant food ‘regime’ and power constellations. These are participatory plant breeding; public food procurement and farm-based multifunctionality. Building on these arenas, the paper will advance and explore some of the conditions for enduring reconfigurations of agri-food power relations. These include: (i) the need to link and co-design ecological production and sustainable and healthy diets; (ii) the need to change the rules governing production, supply and consumption at relevant scales; (iii) the need for systemic and structural innovation rather than product innovation; and, (iv) the need and capacities of these arenas to develop sufficient internal integrity and independence such that they can continuously fend off pressures for co-optation and appropriation from dominant regimes of power. The paper will conc

Sustainability transitions involve the disruption of pre-existing commitments, roles and rules, and the development of new practices, values and identities, implying the transformation of the governance of the whole socio-technical system. Such powerful changes are the outcome of multiple interactions, developments and learning processes within and between the three levels of a socio-technical system – niche, regime and landscape (Geels and Schot, 2007; Smith et al., 2010). This paper addresses the role played by mainstream business actors in collaborative learning for sustainability transitions, particularly in the context of niche-regime interaction, by looking at two cases of local procurement by food retailers in Belgium and their interactions with local producers and initiatives. The question driven this analysis is whether the introduction of local products on food retailers’ sourcing represents an opportunity for transformation of the dominant agri-food system by triggering profound changes in practices and values of incumbent regime actors; or instead, whether the learning processes engendered by such niche-regime interactions represent marginal adjustments in the socio-technical system. The analytical framework borrows insights from the scholarly work on organisational, inter-organisational and network learning, and has two dimensions. The first provides elements to look at learning and changes in retailers’ practices and values engendered by their local sourcing strategies. The core idea in based on the concepts of single, double and triple loop learning. The paper argues that sustainability transitions require regime organisations to engage in multiple loops learning, which can lead to radical changes in their practices and values. In the cases of local sourcing by retailers the aim is to search for evidences of the impacts of such strategies on their practices and values, and trying to identify if changes are localised or if they have the potential to sp

Recently in Belgium, several initiatives aiming to introduce local, low-input, small farmers’ products into supermarkets have emerged. They are promoted by local authorities aiming to support local farmers and/or by civil society organisations (CSOs) with varying motivations, and now involve most supermarkets in Belgium. In a context characterized by mass consumption, they contribute to make sustainable products accessible for most people. However, one may wonder if they act as disruptive innovations and may contribute to a broader systemic change, or if they alleviate the tensions inside the regime and consequently foster the reproduction of the dominant system. In this paper we analyse if the development of local sourcing in supermarkets is an opportunity for a transition towards more sustainable food systems i.e., for sustainable farming and food practices, and for fair marketing practices to be broadly adopted. We combine the multi-level perspective with concepts from the actor-network theory and organisational studies, to examine three initiatives and their impact on the broader food system. We consider all the actors involved: producers, processors, retail corporations, alternative retailers, public authorities, CSOs, consumers. For each actor, we analyse from a diachronic perspective: visions and professed values; practices; coordination and governance features. This research is based on 36 interviews, 6 observations and data from a diversity of documents. Our results show that the initiatives rely on various governance arrangements, producing different impacts on the food system. The analysis of learning processes allows us to characterize these impacts as marginal or systemic. We identify the specific features which allow profound transformation in the set of rules underlying the dominant food system and discuss the implications for public policies.

Sustainability transitions receive increasing attention from scholars and the related body of literature has grown exponentially in recent years. However, due to the complexity of the processes involved, mechanisms of niche-regime interaction and consequent system reconfiguration remain a blind spot. This paper aims at contributing to the understanding and characterization of these transition mechanisms, based on the analysis of an on-going transition towards agroecology in a French small region. Agriculture’s transition towards agroecology requires a radical transformation of production practices based on ecological principles, along with radical changes in processing, marketing and consumption practices and in advisory systems, public policies and research. In the Drome Valley, the high proportion of organic farming (30% in 2015 versus 5% at the national level) and the diversity of actors who base their development strategy on organic farming/products suggest that an agroecological transition is in process and that the territorial scale might facilitate it. To explore these hypotheses, I analysed the evolution of the sociotechnical agrifood system at the scale of this territory since the 1970s, when organic farming emerged in the valley, with an inductive and ethnographic approach. I observed 59 situations of interactions between actors to see how rules and practices are built in present time, and conducted 24 comprehensive interviews of various actors of the local agrifood system to obtain their interpretation of past and present events and circumstances. Additionally, 30 interviews conducted by colleagues in the frame of other research works were integrated into the analysis. The ethnographic work was complemented by an extensive archival work. The qualitative analysis of more than 700 documents gave me access to past controversies, elements on past negotiations and conflicts, as well as data on failed initiatives. This allowed me to deconstruct the reinterpreta

Recently established organic regions aim to be model regions of sustainability. In the frame of this article we understand organic regions as territories that aim at the sustainable management of local resources, based on the principles of organic farming and agroecology. The contribution focuses especially on the role and configurations of values-based supply chains for the territorial development of such organic regions. Three different case studies, in Italy, France and Austria, are investigated. Principles of organic farming, according to the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement and the concept of neo-endogenous development by Christopher Ray, serve as framework for analyses. Finally, we include values-based supply chains into the model of neo-endogenous development for two reasons: first to link values on a territorial level, and second as a tool to permanently apply those values within a region.

Food retail corporations are powerful actors of the dominant food system, accounting for more than 95% of food market share in Belgium. Driven by motives of profit maximisation, they exert strong lock-in effects that hinder the transition towards a more sustainable food system. Through the criteria they impose on the upstream part of the food chain (e.g. homogeneity standards, volume and uninterrupted supply requirements) and through their marketing practices (e.g. back margins), they exclude a significant part of sustainable food products from their shelves which makes them lowly available for consumers. Recently, several initiatives aiming at enabling the introduction of local, low-input, small farmers’ products on supermarket shelves have emerged in Belgium. These initiatives mainly take the form of logistic platforms, that have been launched by local authorities and/or civil society organisations (CSOs). As supermarkets seek to improve their image, they are becoming a flourishing activity. This raises the following question: is the development of local sourcing in supermarkets an opportunity for a transition towards more sustainable food systems (i.e., for sustainable farming and food practices and for fair marketing practices to be broadly adopted), and if so, under which conditions? In our research, we combine the multi-level perspective with a pragmatist approach to analyse three initiatives, which rely on different governance arrangements and produce different subsystems. In order to assess the impact of these initiatives on the broader food system, we take into account all the actors involved (producers, processors, retail corporations, alternative retailers, public authorities, CSOs, consumers), and for each one of them, we jointly analyse: the key ethical issues and professed values, and their evolution over time; the implementation (or absence) of related practices; and the coordination and governance features they participate in and their evolution over

This paper aims to present a conceptual discussion on the potential role that business corporations can play in sustainability transitions of sociotechnical systems, from the perspective of interactive learning processes. In order to discuss what type of organisational learning can lead to sustainability transitions, the paper borrows insights from the business management literature on organisational and inter-organisational learning, particularly related to the social learning theory of action and the discussion of learning loops (Armitage et al., 2008). The purpose is to identify and discuss aspects and dynamics of learning processes at organisational and inter-organisational levels that can favour or hinder sustainability transitions in the context of interactions between rather different actors. The overarching theoretical reference for this paper is based on the multi-level perspective (MLP). According to the MLP, key societal functions are fulfilled by socio-technical systems, which are formed of three basic analytical levels: landscape, regime and niches (Geels and Schot, 2007). Sociotechnical regime is the dominant mean of fulfilling a societal function. The interpretations and actions of different regime actors (e.g. business corporations) are guided by the regime’s basic architecture, which is characterised by relatively stable configurations and alignments of different cognitive and normative elements, activities and processes, including knowledge, techniques, artefacts, routines, practices, rules, world views, values, problem definition and interpretation. The stability of a regime’s basic architecture locks it within path-dependent trajectories, implying that regime changes are rather incremental (Schot and Geels, 2007). However, sustainability transitions require deep and broad structural changes in both technical and social components of the basic architecture of an incumbent regime, which go far beyond incremental or trivial adjustments (Smith et al.

La transition écologique et sociale peut se penser à partir du haut : guidée par l'Etat, par le recours à des réglementations juridiques et à des incitants économiques, et par l'outil de la planification pour passer à une société bas carbone. Elle peut aussi se réfléchir comme résultant d'initiatives locales dans les domaines de l'alimentation, de l'énergie ou des transports, au sein desquelles les individus inventent des solutions à partir de motivations variées et dans des contextes spécifiques, en prenant appui sur les ressources matérielles et les savoir-faire locaux. Notre analyse part de l'exemple de la mise en mouvement de la vallée de la Drôme, un territoire de 54000 habitants qui a vu se développer un nombre impressionnant de telles initiatives au cours des dernières années et qui a donné lieu entre autres à un programme majeur de développement durable territorial appelé Biovallée. En prenant pour point de départ cet exemple, nous avons voulu explorer les facteurs de nature à favoriser une transition écologique ainsi conçue, à partir des initiatives locales, ainsi que les défis qu'elle doit affronter et les freins qu'elle peut rencontrer. En prenant en compte le contexte historique ainsi que les réalités géographiques et démographiques du territoire de la vallée de la Drôme, nous tentons de dégager de ce laboratoire de la transition écologique des enseignements pouvant nous éclairer sur les conditions de la transition conçue sur le mode territorial. Nous mettons en avant en particulier (i) le rôle des motivations intrinsèques et extrinsèques, qui amènent les individus à s'investir dans certaines innovations sociales ; (ii) les mécanismes de gouvernance et de mise en réseau qui favorisent la construction de valeurs et de visions partagées pouvant amener un basculement des normes sociales ; (iii) la nouvelle grammaire de l'action publique que suppose cette conception émergente de la transition écologique, et les leviers d'un nouveau type que peuvent utiliser, Building transition by social innovation: the case of the Drome valley. The ecological and social transition can be conceived as operating from the top: guided by the State, through legal regulations and economic incentives, and by planning tools, to move to a low-carbon society. It can also be thought of as the result of local initiatives in the areas of food, energy, or mobility, wherein (groups of) persons create solutions from various motivations and in specific contexts, relying on local material resources and know-hows. In this paper, we analyze the changes in the Drôme valley, a territory of 54,000 inhabitants, where a large number of such initiatives have developed in the last few years and where – among others – a major local sustainable development programme called Biovallée is implemented. Taking the Drôme valley as our departure point, we seek to explore the factors that could foster ecological and social transition from local initiatives, as well as the challenges and obstacles encountered. Taking into account its historical context and the geographic and demographic characteristics, we seek to identify the conditions which supported territory-based transition in this laboratory region. Our analysis highlights (i) the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations leading individuals to engage in social innovations ; (ii) the governance mechansisms and the networking that favored the emergence of shared values and visions allowing a shift in social norms ; and (iii) the new grammar of public action required by this emerging conception of transition and the new tools that public authorities can deploy to make it happen.

En partant de la confrontation de trois grands cadres théoriques permettant de traiter des processus de transformation des systèmes agri-alimentaires, les théories des transitions socio-techniques, celles de la sociologie pragmatique, et celles des food regimes, cet article formule une proposition qui emprunte à ces différents cadres pour construire une approche systémique, historicisée et ancrée dans la sociologie pragmatique de ces processus. Approche systémique et historicisée, car il s’agit de saisir comment la modification dans le temps des interdépendances entre certains maillons et acteurs des systèmes agri-alimentaires conduisent à ces processus de transition. Ancrée dans la sociologie pragmatique, car nous proposons également de nous intéresser aux controverses opposant divers acteurs revendiquant une transition écologique, ainsi qu’aux processus de changement de pratiques qu’ils mettent éventuellement en œuvre. En vue de montrer l’intérêt d’une telle proposition, nous appliquons ensuite cette proposition à trois cas d’étude: d’une part, l’analyse du processus d’institutionnalisation de l’agroécologie au Brésil et en France, et d’autre part, celle de la transition agroécologique à l’échelle d’un système agri-alimentaire territorial.

Comment les initiatives, réseaux et filières biologiques parviennent-ils à maintenir leurs valeurs fondatrices dans et malgré leurs processus de croissance ? C’est cette question fondamentale, au cœur des débats sur la « conventionnalisation » de l’agriculture biologique, qu’a exploré le projet européen HealthyGrowth (2013-2016, programme Eranet Core Organic). Dans ce projet, 11 équipes de différents pays ont développé et appliqué à une vingtaine d’études de cas, cinq perspectives différentes portant sur les modes d’organisation et la gouvernance, les stratégies et le management des entreprises, la communication des valeurs dans les chaines, les processus de médiation des valeurs, enfin la résilience face aux crises et changements. L’analyse transversale des cas d’études, conduite au travers d’une approche « multi-perspectives », a conduit à mettre au jour trois aspects importants contribuant au maintien des valeurs dans le processus de croissance : l’existence d’un processus continu de réaffirmation et parfois de redéfinition de ces valeurs au fil du temps, une certaine synchronisation des horizons temporels des différents acteurs permettant de stabiliser les attentes et engagements réciproques, enfin, la prise en compte de la diversité des dimensions et des sens que prend la nécessaire professionnalisation des acteurs.

Changing farming practices is a major issue for sustainability. Such change is difficult to bring about because of strong lock-in effects within the agri-food system. Scholars have mobilized diverse approaches to address the issue of changes in agriculture, including the multi-level perspective (MLP). However, the mechanisms through which “niches” can contribute to regime reconfiguration are still unclear. In this article, we combine the diachronic and systemic approach from the MLP with insights from French pragmatic sociology and from the Alternative Food Networks literature. We analyse the trajectories of four initiatives, which can be considered as niches, as they associate various actors and develop radical innovations. Comparing their trajectories allows us to identify a generic pattern in niche development and niche-regime interactions. We identify regime reconfiguration mechanisms common to all four case studies. Niche activities and the enrolment of new actors lead to a gradual reconfiguration of the regime: first, through the construction of shared visions of agri-food issues and of the associated network of relevant actors; second, through their embedding in local policies and public action.

In recent years within many European countries aspirations emerged to establish model regions of sustainability. One way to operationalize this is the creation of ‘organic regions’. Organic regions base their territorial development on principles derived from organic farming to develop sustaina-ble food chains as well as to transfer them to the other sectors, like energy, waste management or housing on a regional scale. They aim to establish a commonly shared set of values within a certain area to support sustainable lifestyle and agriculture as well as rural development. These approach-es are still young and little is known about their establishment. At the same time, the concept of values based food chains (VBFC) emerged to analyze a new type of supply chain configuration, which is again based on shared values. Therefore, we investigated three different organic regions in Italy, France and Austria to elicit whether and how such values based food chains are imple-mented on a territorial level in ‘organic regions’. Further it is highlighted if and how regional coher-ence can be achieved within such ‘territorial values based food chains’ and which bottlenecks be-come apparent during this process. The examination of their historical development as well as their integration into current administra-tive structures and their performance provides different examples of implementation in the three case studies under investigation. The success of such territorial VBFCs relies mainly on endogenous factors, such as the initiating stakeholders within the rural development process as well as the will-ingness of the local population to participate. Therefore, the aim is to figure out, how different his-torical path dependencies and different administrative (political) frameworks can lead to perform regional coherence. Finally the question arose whether and under which institutional arrangement VBFCs can be a starting point for territorial approaches or their result.

Recently established organic regions aim to be model regions of sustainability. This paper focuses on the role and configurations of values based supply chains for the territorial development of organic regions. Three different case studies of organic regions in Italy, France and Austria are investi-gated. Principles of organic farming according to the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement and the concept of neo-endogenous development by Christopher Ray serve as frame-work for analyzes. Finally, we include values-based supply chains into the model of neo-endogenous development: first to link values on a territorial level and second as a tool to imple-ment them.