An analytical framework to study the role of collective actions in the restructuration of three French local biosourced sectors (hemp, wool, and leather)

Agriculture is facing to various challenges which push the stakeholders to review their organization. This reorganization occurs particularly through the creation of new form of collectives considered as privileged cooperation space. This article presents an exploratory research work to study the importance of these collectives in the adaptation of the agrifood systems facing to these challenges. It mobilizes an original framework combining two approaches rarely mobilized together (i) the collective action framework, and (ii) the institutional change. This combination allows (i) to characterize the collective action (group characteristics, products, …), and (ii) to determine the level of institutionalization of the collectives studied. We apply it to three French local biosourced sectors: hemp, wool, and leather. They have known a period of deindustrialization in the seventies before reemerging on the territory around three new collective actions. This exploratory study reveals two main research tracks: (i) the membership heterogeneity impact negatively the collective efficacity, and (ii) collective action plays a significant role in the redeployment of the biosourced sectors, although it remains fragile because it is not sufficiently institutionalized. The relevance of this analytical framework will be assessed and strengthened through further field investigations.