Governance and Sustainability-Oriented Innovations in Wine Firms: A Qualitative Study in France

Facing climate change, wine industry is transitioning through innovations to be more sustainable. To understand how the governance characteristics of wine firms can influence sustainability-oriented innovations (SOI), we apply a multi-paradigmatic theoretical perspective: Technology-Organisation-Environment model, Transaction Cost Economics and the cognitive theory of the firm. Using a step-by-step thematic analysis, we analyze 22 interviews from 16 French firms. We find that few innovations address the three dimensions of sustainability. Standards, frequently relying on SOI, appear to be the most widespread means to signal sustainability. Centralized firms seem to implement more SOI, unlike decentralized firms. There is a gradient of organizational models, according to a combination of transactional and cognitive governance.