Contribution of transition theory to the study of geographical indications

The green revolution and globalization have profoundly transformed agri-food systems, leading to standardized food products of diminished taste quality. Geographical Indications (GIs) have emerged as powerful regulatory tools for sustaining alternative quality models. In this paper, we analyze GIs as governance tools for “terroir niches”, viewed as sociotechnical systems whose functioning is influenced by specific resources. Building on this framework, we study the reconfiguration of the Corsican clementine production area under a recent Geographical Indication. We show that the innovation trajectory was driven by specific resources (climate, with-leaf marketing), leading to the emergence of a niche that conflicted with the rules of the citrus regime. The implementation of a GI in the early 2000s strengthened this endogenous innovation pathway since it gave the niche renewed protection and prompted systemic changes. These results open prospects for cross-fertilization between GI studies and the Multi-Level Perspective on sustainability transitions.