Small firms in the sustainable transformation of food industry: entangling entrepreneurship and activism in grassroots innovation processes

Journal title SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO
Author/s Emilie Lanciano, Séverine Saleilles
Publishing Year 2017 Issue 2017/147 Language English
Pages 17 P. 111-127 File size 120 KB
DOI 10.3280/SL2017-147006
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The literature in Social Movement Theory, Organization Studies and Entrepreneurship emphasizes on the linkages between social movement action and economic organization. Indeed, social entrepreneurship and social movement studies tend to be more and more linked: activists and social entrepreneurs do not represent separate and distinct actors with different logics of action, but tend to transfer their tactics, such as framing, mobilization, protest and negation. This paper explores how activism and entrepreneurship can be combined in an innovative way by small firms in order to contribute to an industry’s transformation towards sustainable development. We specially investigate the field of food industry and Alternative Food Networks. In a context of growing interest and sensitivity towards more sustainable food models, how do small firms combine activism and entrepreneurship to frame grassroots innovation processes and translate this frame into organizational model?

Keywords: Grassroots innovation, SME, food industry, cooperation

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Emilie Lanciano, Séverine Saleilles, Small firms in the sustainable transformation of food industry: entangling entrepreneurship and activism in grassroots innovation processes in "SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO " 147/2017, pp 111-127, DOI: 10.3280/SL2017-147006