Analysing the role of consumers within technological innovation systems: The case of alternative food networks

Abstract In recent years, an increasing number of studies have stressed the relevance of the consumer experience in the research about new trajectories towards sustainability. These studies suggest that consumers should not be viewed solely as passive agents who select between different commercial options. This paper argues for a broader application of Technological Innovation System (TIS) conceptual framework and proposes an analytical approach that explicitly considers consumers and producers as interacting and then co-evolving actors. We apply the TIS framework to the food industry, a low-medium technology sector where several “alternative” food networks (AFN) are emerging and acting as innovative systems in the transition towards sustainability. The analysis allows us to better understand the common structure and the functional patterns shared by the various models of AFNs. The paper points out how the interactive relation between consumers and producers may foster the transition into a more sustainable socio-technical regime.

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