Paper presented at the International Sustainability Transitions conference 2018 (12-14 june) Manchester, UK. The Dutch agrifood regime is grinding to a halt. International economic pressures force Dutch farmers to further scale up and intensify their businesses, while food scandals and calamities as well as many and varied negative environmental impacts have led to an all-time low societal acceptance of the agrifood regime as well as a host of legislative measures to stifle further growth. Such a situation, in which regime pressures increasingly undermine the regime, represents a strong call for transition of the Dutch agrifood system.At the same time, new business models emerge: new players arrive, new logistical pathways come to the fore and innovative consumer and farmer relationships – food co-operatives – are forged. In a sense, the transition is already under way (cf. Hermans et al., 2010), with new business models forming an important backbone. However, the way forward is still a matter of great uncertainty and controversy: How do new business models relate to reconfiguring the Dutch agrifood system? We explore the hypothesis that different transition pathways put specific demands on the role of new business models. We studied various new business models in the Dutch agrifood system and their relations to three different transition pathways. Our research combines future exploration (backcasting) and analysis of new business models. In this research, we approach this question from two angles. First, we introduce a transition-oriented business model concept, in order to effectively link new business models to transition. Then we shortly touch upon the transition pathway typology introduced by Geels et al. (2016) and describe three different transition pathways for the Dutch agrifood system. We report on XX business models in each of these transition pathways. The paper ends with a discussion of the role of business models for different types of transition pathways.
MULTIFILE
Nakamoto, S. (2008). Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system. https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf outlined an alternative to the current monetary system in which banks are replaced by a peer-to-peer system to issue and transfer digital money: the Bitcoin. While Bitcoin has attracted a substantial investment volume, the system has not achieved the status of a viable alternative monetary system. However, the distributed ledger technology (DLT) underlying the payment system is being applied successfully by financial institutions and is likely to have important implications for the future of money and banking. In this paper we therefore focus on the most advanced distributed ledger application in the financial industry: R3 Corda. This paper is structured as follows. In the first section, we relate the debate about systems of money creation to the rise of Bitcoin. Next, the development of R3 Corda is discussed and the lessons learned for monetary reform. We conclude with an assessment of the scope and likelihood of monetary reform as a consequence of DLT applications by central banks.
New Dutch agrifood business models are emerging in response to economic, social and ecological pressures: new players arrive, new logistical pathways come to the fore and innovative consumer and farmer relationships – food coöperatives – are forged. How do new business models relate to reconfiguring the Dutch agrifood system? Our research combines future exploration (backcasting) and analysis of new business models. We developed three agrifood transition scenarios with various groups of stakeholders. For each scenario, we then analysed a specific, representative business model to explore the different roles of business models in agrifood transition. Business models in the “Added value in and with the countryside” already exist and occupy a niche in the market. However, a breakthrough of these business models require large-scale institutional and behavioural change. Business models in the “New products, specific markets” exist but are rare. They usually concern high-value specialist products that could result in widespread market change, but might require little institutional change. The “Sustainable production methods” most resembles the current system. Some associated business models become successful, but they have difficulty distinguishing themselves from conventional produce, which raises questions about whether business models are able to drive a transition in this direction. Thus, our results lend credence to the hypothesis that different transition pathways offer specific potential for and requirements of new business models.
MULTIFILE
