Analyzing institutional changes in community-based management : a case study of a participatory guarantee system for organic labeling in Brazil

The literature on collective action has poorly addressed processes of incremental institutional changes within organizations. This paper helps fill this gap by shedding light on how the community-based management of an organic label has changed following its formal recognition as a ‘participatory guarantee system’ (PGS). Ostrom and Basurto’s (2011) analytical tool is useful to describe the changes in collective rules to address collective action problems that take place in standard-setting and labeling activities. Using original data collected from the Ecovida Agroecology Network – the oldest and largest PGS in Brazil –, we study the multi-scale changes in governance rules from the 1970s until today. We pay particular attention to the links between the institutional consolidation of PGS, its recognition by public authorities, and its adaptation to legal rules. We detail analytical operators indicating whether the introduction of the PGS rules at the national level was bottom-up or top-down. Our findings emphasize how local communities have been able to both adapt their governance system in response to the official arrangements concerning organic regulations, and influence national public arenas where these arrangements are defined. This form of co-management has been accompanied by a significant increase in the number of PGS-certified farmers

Governance of knowledge commons : the case of participatory guarantee systems to manage ecological labels in France and in Brazil

Ces dernières années, le débat quant au mode de gouvernance le mieux adapté pour préserver les ressources communes naturelles a été étendu aux ressources communes de la connaissance. De plus en plus de communautés locales dans le monde s’organisent et prennent position en faveur d’une gestion collective de ces ressources. C’est le cas des collectifs organisés en système participatif de garantie (SPG), une méthode de certification de la qualité alternative pour gérer les labels écologiques. Cette thèse propose une analyse de la gouvernance des SPG dans des contextes réglementaires opposés : reconnaissance réglementaire des SPG au Brésil versus domination de la certification par tierce partie en France. Pour cela, nous mobilisons l’approche théorique des communs, pertinente pour étudier les systèmes de règles conçus par les communautés locales responsables collectivement d’une ressource commune. Dans ce cadre, nous considérons les labels écologiques comme des ressources communes de la connaissance. La littérature souligne que les activités de contrôle, au cœur des labels de qualité, sont sujettes aux risques de dégradation ou de sous-production rencontrés dans la gestion des pools de ressources communes (CPR). L’analyse développée repose sur un travail d’enquêtes et d’ateliers collectifs, menés auprès d’acteurs impliqués dans la mise en œuvre des dispositifs SPG, d’observations participantes et d’analyses documentaires. Les données ont été analysées en mobilisant la typologie des sept règles de gouvernance d’un commun et l’outil analytique du changement institutionnel développé par Ostrom et ses collègues. Nous montrons que les organisations SPG sont des systèmes de gouvernance complexes, capables (i) d’auto-organiser la conformité à un cahier des charges et (ii) d’adapter leur gouvernance pour favoriser la pérennité de leurs institutions. Au Brésil, nos résultats montrent que la cogestion des ressources communes de la connaissance est un schéma institutionnel pertinent pour gouverner le SPG. Les modalités de cette gestion partagée, entre autorités publiques et communautés locales, sont garantes de la crédibilité du SPG et facilitent l’adaptation des règles au contexte local tout en ayant recours à la normalisation. Cette gestion crée toutefois une augmentation des procédures administratives. En France, dans un contexte beaucoup moins favorable, le SPG existe depuis cinquante ans et essaime dans d’autres secteurs que celui de l’agriculture biologique. Nous montrons que la gouvernance du SPG en France repose majoritairement sur des normes non écrites. Cette dépendance au sentier en place génère des tensions et des conflits entre les utilisateurs dans une communauté en forte croissance. Enfin, les organisations françaises utilisant un SPG n’ont pas de socle de règles en commun, condition nécessaire pour préserver la réputation associée à la dénomination SPG. Ces résultats interrogent la capacité des communautés locales, qui gèrent un label écologique, à produire de l’action collective sous contrainte de l’environnement institutionnel dans lequel elles évoluent aux fins de répondre aux enjeux de la transition écologique et solidaire. Ce travail ouvre la réflexion sur le degré de stabilité du concept de « système participatif de garantie » pour devenir un outil majeur de gestion collective des labels écologiques.In recent years, the debate about the most appropriate mode of governance to preserve natural resources commons has been extended to knowledge commons resources. Throughout the world, increasing numbers of local communities are organizing themselves and taking a stand in favor of collective management of such resources. This is the case for collectives organized in Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS), an alternative quality certification method for the management of ecological labels. This thesis analyzes the governance of PGSs in opposing regulatory contexts: regulatory recognition of PGSs in Brazil versus the dominance of third-party certification in France. For the analysis, we use the theoretical approach of the commons, which is appropriate for studying systems of rules designed by local communities that are collectively in charge of a common resource. In this framework, we consider ecological labels as common knowledge resources. The literature emphasizes the fact that control activities, which are at the heart of quality labels, are subject to the risk of degradation or underproduction commonly encountered in the management of common pool resources (CPR). Our analysis is based on surveys and focus groups organized with actors involved in the implementation of PGS schemes, participant observation, and documentary analysis. The data was analyzed using the typology of seven rules to govern a commons and the analytical tool developed by Ostrom and her colleagues to study past changes in governance rules.We show that PGS organizations are complex governance systems, capable of (i) self-organizing to comply with a technical standard and (ii) adapting their governance to foster the sustainability of their institutions. In Brazil, our results show that co-management of the commons knowledge resources is an appropriate institutional scheme to govern a PGS. The modalities of management shared between public authorities and local communities ensure the credibility of the PGS and facilitate the adaptation of rules to the local context despite being standardized. However, this kind of management leads to an increase in administrative procedures. In France, in a much less favorable context, the PGS has existed for 50 years and is currently spreading to sectors other than organic agriculture. We show that the governance of the PGS in France relies mainly on unwritten norms. This path dependency creates tensions and conflicts between users in a rapidly growing community. Finally, French organizations that use the PGS do not have a common rule base, a necessary condition for building a shared reputation for PGS.These results question the capacity of local communities that manage an ecological label to produce collective action under the constraints of the institutional environment in which they evolve and hence to tackle the challenges of the ecological and solidarity transition. A further question is whether the "participatory guarantee system" is a sufficiently stable concept to develop into a key tool for the collective management of ecological labels

Diferenciação institucional na certificação de produtos orgânicos: uma comparação dos Organismos Participativos de Avaliação da Conformidade no estado do Rio Grande do Sul

This article analyzes the factors of institutional differentiation in the processes of participatory certification of organic products. The research conducted with the participatory conformity assessment bodies (OPACs) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, initially aimed to answer whether they were converging to similar organizational structures and strategies. The initial hypothesis suggested the isomorphism of these organizations due to coercive, normative and mimetic institutional pressures. However, due to the rejection of the initial hypothesis, it sought to identify the factors that produce institutional differentiation. Normative instruments that regulate organic certification, OPACs’ internal management documents, transcripts of individual and collective interviews with stakeholders, and notes issues from the observations of meetings and certification procedures were examined. Results demonstrate decoupling processes driven by three main factors: ambiguity and heterogeneity of the institutional environment, resistance of the actors to isomorphic pressures, and internal power dynamics related to the format of social participation in each OPAC

Diferenciação institucional na certificação de produtos orgânicos: uma comparação dos Organismos Participativos de Avaliação da Conformidade no estado do Rio Grande do Sul

This article analyzes the factors of institutional differentiation in the processes of participatory certification of organic products. The research conducted with the participatory conformity assessment bodies (OPACs) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, initially aimed to answer whether they were converging to similar organizational structures and strategies. The initial hypothesis suggested the isomorphism of these organizations due to coercive, normative and mimetic institutional pressures. However, due to the rejection of the initial hypothesis, it sought to identify the factors that produce institutional differentiation. Normative instruments that regulate organic certification, OPACs’ internal management documents, transcripts of individual and collective interviews with stakeholders, and notes issues from the observations of meetings and certification procedures were examined. Results demonstrate decoupling processes driven by three main factors: ambiguity and heterogeneity of the institutional environment, resistance of the actors to isomorphic pressures, and internal power dynamics related to the format of social participation in each OPAC

Institutional differentiation in the certification of organic products : a comparison of the Participatory Conformity Assessment Bodies in the state of Rio Grande do Sul

Este artigo analisa os fatores de diferenciação institucional nos processos de certificação participativa de produtos orgânicos. Realizada junto aos Organismos Participativos de Avaliação da Conformidade (OPAC) que operam no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, a pesquisa visava inicialmente responder se eles estariam convergindo para formatos organizacionais e estratégias similares. A hipótese inicial sugeria o isomorfismo desses organismos em virtude de pressões institucionais coercitivas, normativas e miméticas. No entanto, devido à rejeição da hipótese inicial, buscou-se, então, identificar os fatores que produzem diferenciação institucional. Foram examinados instrumentos normativos que regulam a certificação orgânica, os documentos internos de gestão dos OPACs, transcrições de entrevistas individuais e coletivas com stakeholders e anotações de observações das reuniões e procedimentos de certificação. Os resultados demonstram processos de dissociação (decoupling) impulsionados por três fatores principais: ambiguidade e heterogeneidade do ambiente institucional, resistência dos atores às pressões isomórficas e dinâmicas internas de poder relacionadas com o formato de participação social em cada OPAC.This article analyzes the factors of institutional differentiation in the processes of participatory certification of organic products. The research conducted with the participatory conformity assessment bodies (OPACs) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, initially aimed to answer whether they were converging to similar organizational structures and strategies. The initial hypothesis suggested the isomorphism of these organizations due to coercive, normative and mimetic institutional pressures. However, due to the rejection of the initial hypothesis, it sought to identify the factors that produce institutional differentiation. Normative instruments that regulate organic certification, OPACs’ internal management documents, transcripts of individual and collective interviews with stakeholders, and notes issues from the observations of meetings and certification procedures were examined. Results demonstrate decoupling processes driven by three main factors: ambiguity and heterogeneity of the institutional environment, resistance of the actors to isomorphic pressures, and internal power dynamics related to the format of social participation in each OPAC

Social movements and institutional change in organic food markets: Evidence from participatory guarantee systems in Brazil and France

Institutional change and diversity have been two major topics of debate in contemporary social sciences. At the core of this debate are actors' skills to manage the institutional frame that defines limits and possibilities for their strategies. This article analyses how social movements produce institutional change and diversity in the organic food market. It contrasts the experiences of Participatory Guarantee Systems created by Nature & Progrès (France) and Ecovida Agroecology Network (Brazil) to reframe the institutional order of the organic market. Results demonstrate that, while the conventional third-party certification remains the dominant institutional frame, there is space for competing schemes. However, the relevance of the alternatives depends both on the characteristics of the institutional order historically shaped in each context, and on the skills social movements possess to face the interests of the dominant actors. In this way, the article demonstrates that, in comparison to Nature & Progrès, Ecovida has been a more skillful movement because of its closer connection with other social movements and state actors, compelling Brazil to produce an institutional frame more open to diversity than that found in France

Analyzing institutional changes in community-based management: a case study of a participatory guarantee system for organic labeling in Brazil

International audienceThe literature on collective action has poorly addressed processes of incremental institutional changes within organizations. This paper helps fill this gap by shedding light on how the community-based management of an organic label has changed following its formal recognition as a ‘participatory guarantee system’ (PGS). Ostrom and Basurto's (2011) analytical tool is useful to describe the changes in collective rules to address collective action problems that take place in standard-setting and labeling activities. Using original data collected from the Ecovida Agroecology Network – the oldest and largest PGS in Brazil –, we study the multi-scale changes in governance rules from the 1970s until today. We pay particular attention to the links between the institutional consolidation of PGS, its recognition by public authorities, and its adaptation to legal rules. We detail analytical operators indicating whether the introduction of the PGS rules at the national level was bottom-up or top-down. Our findings emphasize how local communities have been able to both adapt their governance system in response to the official arrangements concerning organic regulations, and influence national public arenas where these arrangements are defined. This form of co-management has been accompanied by a significant increase in the number of PGS-certified farmers