Abstract
This article analyses the impact of external factors on niche evolution and, in particular, the change from a technical niche into a socio-technical niche. When we review the literature on niche evolution, we find that discussions on the impact of external factors on niche evolution are not clear, particularly, on new financial sponsors’ expectations. Therefore, this paper attempts to answer the following research question: Do changes in public financial resources contribute to transforming a technical niche into a socio-technical niche? We analysed an agricultural innovation niche case based on Butiá Native Fruits (e.g. Butiá odorata and others species), developed mainly by Temperate Climate Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) to understand whether and how external factors might contribute to an evolution of a niche. We found that new financial sponsors’ expectations can cause an important change in the evolution of a niche. Before the existence of a new external finance sponsor, the technical network niche was composed of research organisations and researchers working on isolated projects. However, after a new external finance sponsor was found, the network or organisations moved into experimental activities, upscaling, and outscaling, and began to incorporate multilevel organisations and people. Consequently, a more complex, coordinated organisation was created that incorporated social co-production, democracy, and participation, and the niche progressed towards a socio-technical niche.
Highlights
This article analyses the impact of external factors on niche evolution
During the construction of a socio-technical niche (Stage II), these individuals or organisations gradually realise, as they implement their action, that the issue they want to tackle is related to the way various actors are coordinated, and that to have a greater impact, their actions need to be complemented with further changes in the agri-food system
In order to address the main theoretical question about whether a change in public financial resources might transform a technical niche into a socio-technical niche, we developed a case study (YIN, 2009) on an agricultural innovation niche, Butiá Native Fruits, in the south of Brazil, which is led by Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA)
Summary
This article analyses the impact of external factors on niche evolution. The main focus is on whether new financial sponsors expectations can change a niche from a technical niche to a socio-technical niche. Negative expectations that lack enough financial resources to support the network activity are a factor which might change the innovation journey course (AGOSTINO; ARNABOLDI; DAL MOLIN, 2017) In this context, it might be necessary to have a new institutional alignment to create good expectations about future performance and functionality for a new financial sponsor (BERGEK et al, 2015) who might support a technical niche’s transformation into a sociotechnical niche (JOLLY; RAVEN, 2016). During the construction of a socio-technical niche (Stage II), these individuals or organisations gradually realise, as they implement their action, that the issue they want to tackle is related to the way various actors are coordinated, and that to have a greater impact, their actions need to be complemented with further changes in the agri-food system This leads them to widen the circle of actors involved and to try to enrol new actors. For instance, by re-shaping the socio-political legitimacy of the sociotechnical niche through media exposure, or agreeing on new industry standards, or deriving policy lessons that are picked up in political debates which inform of new regulations or support incentives that might contribute to upscaling and outscaling actions (HESS; YEUNG, 2006; JOLLY; RAVEN, 2016)
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