Value chain sociotechnical interactions and functions of mission-oriented innovation systems: An analysis based on sustainability challenges for agricultural value chains

The concepts of mission-oriented innovation system or coupled innovation emphasize the socio-technical interactions between actors to build a common vision of the issues and the resources linked to the targeted changes. However, few works focus on these interactions at the scale of value chains. The literature on value chains is essentially based on an accounting or logistical approach of goods and finance flows without analyzing the impacts of the socio-technical interactions between actors on the change process. Combining the literature on the governance of transactions, innovation systems and transition studies, this article analyzes the way in which the value chain sociotechnical interactions, depending on the governance of transactions, fulfil the functions of a mission-oriented innovation system; that contribute to define the transition capacity of a value chain. This reflection is based on the context of different agricultural value chains in France committed to sustainability.
JEL Codes: L14, L24, L2, O13, O3, Q1