Natalia Bracarense et Marie Dervillé publient sur le Journal of Evolutionary Economics: "Coevolution of business models and sectoral dynamics in a context of uncertainty"

In a global context marked by liberalization, geopolitical tensions, and ecological urgency, firms must continuously reconfigure internal operations and external engagements to ensure long-term viability. This paper proposes an institutionalist-enriched business model framework that integrates insights from Commonsian economics, evolutionary economics, and French regulation theory to analyze how organizations adapt to economic and ecological uncertainty. By extending conventional business model approaches to incorporate institutional embeddedness, learning dynamics, and the political dimensions of enterprise strategy, our framework captures both intra-territorial interactions among enterprises and the co-evolution of enterprise trajectories and sectoral transformations, understood through competition regimes. We apply this approach to a comparative study of 14 agricultural enterprises embedded in contrasting regional contexts in France. The empirical focus on dairy farms illustrates not only the co-evolution of sectoral regulation and business models but also the resulting coexistence of different business models (BMs). Liberalization and environmental awareness have weakened the dominant family-run, productivist farm model, strengthened two BMs that resisted productivism, and given rise to three archetypal adaptation strategies. The coexistence of these BMs is shaped by regionally specific resources, historical legacies, and institutional arrangements. From an environmental perspective, the results indicate that ecological resistance, associated with traditional production methods, deserves as much attention as ecological transition. Beyond agriculture, the framework helps explain how enterprises across sectors navigate uncertainty by mobilizing both internal capabilities and external alliances. The results call for policy frameworks that support the coexistence of diverse production models, recognize the political and institutional foundations of ecological transitions, and emphasize the need for greater regional political autonomy to tailor strategies to specific territories.