Resource constellations and institutional logics shape network structures of the organic seed niche innovation system
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: • Network analysis of the US organic seed niche finds support for the resource-based theory of innovation system building. • The US organic seed niche has decentralized resources, managed by cooperative “partner” modes of system building. • Non-profit actors are more active in pre-competitive functions, for-profit actors are more active in competitive functions. Innovation systems are relational, with actors forming connections to enhance system functions. What drives these connections? The resource-based theory of system building suggests actors pursue relationships based on resource availability and distribution. Network theory adds that social processes vary across innovation system functions, affecting configurations and actor involvement. This study examines these ideas using the case of the US organic seed niche, operationalizing the seed innovation system as four functional networks. The analysis shows that all the functional networks are shaped by “partner mode” structures, suggesting that cooperative relationships form when resources are available and distributed, with some variation across functions. Institutional affiliations also affect actors' involvement in specific innovation system functions, with differences between non-profit and for-profit actors. This research advances sustainability transitions by empirically testing and extending existing theories with network analysis, offering generalizable insights into innovation system formation.
Authors: Liza Wood, Mark Lubell
Institution: University of California, Davis
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,610
OpenAlex ID: W4407199452