Ecosystems of Collaboration for Sustainability-Oriented Innovation: The Importance of Values in the Agri-Food Value-Chain

There is growing recognition that sustainable innovation is not necessarily about new technologies, but about new or adapted organisational models, behaviours, and networks. How people engage in or with innovation is driven by values, but values differ across actor categories in agri-food value-chai...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2022-09, Vol.14 (18), p.11205
Main Authors: Gutiérrez, José A, Macken-Walsh, Áine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actors
Actresses
Agribusiness
Agricultural industry
Agricultural production
Chains
Collaboration
Decision making
Ecosystems
Environmental aspects
Food chains
Food industry
Green technology
Innovations
New technology
Organizational aspects
Qualitative analysis
Social values
Sustainability
Sustainable development
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Summary:There is growing recognition that sustainable innovation is not necessarily about new technologies, but about new or adapted organisational models, behaviours, and networks. How people engage in or with innovation is driven by values, but values differ across actor categories in agri-food value-chains. Understanding actors’ values helps us to identify potential for collaborative innovation within agri-food value-chains, and to address potential barriers and obstacles. In the context of the Ploutos H2020 project, we conducted participatory focus group (FG) sessions at the EU level involving actors across the value-chain to brainstorm values, enablers, and hindrances in the process of sustainability-oriented innovation. Participants co-created stories showing scenarios within sustainability-oriented innovation where conflicts could occur between values and others where mutual values were created by multi-actor alliances. Based on a qualitative description of the data collected in these FGs, we identify a range of cultural and social values in decision-making and innovation processes, creating dilemmas and trade-offs, but also opportunities for sustainability-oriented innovation. A strong ecosystem of collaboration across the value-chain, based on relationships of shared interests and trust, is fundamental to innovation. We provide detailed insights regarding the use of participatory approaches to working with innovation actors to increase awareness of diversity in value systems and how it can be negotiated. Our findings are of particular interest to practice oriented scholars, practitioners, and innovation brokers working on the ground to further SOI.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su141811205