Co-innovation in sustainable laying hen husbandry systems: Investigating the interactive framing of sustainability

Many different actors, like businesses, farmers, the government, societal organizations, consultants and research institutes, are involved in the design and implementation of “the Roundel”, which is a sustainable laying hen husbandry system. It is assumed that interactions between these different actors are important to articulate common ideas of which aspects are important for a sustainable husbandry system. The main research question addressed in this paper is: How did heterogeneous actors in the Roundel project frame sustainability aspects over time? We study interaction with a focus on interactive framing of sustainability issues. We limit our study by analysing how framing of three themes related to sustainability change in interaction, namely the outdoor run for hens, the “better life” label and positioning of the Roundel egg in the market for table eggs. Our analysis showed that framing is changing. Via interaction the various actors got acquainted with each others’ frames. This confrontation with other actors’ frames did lead to pruning, compromising and re-framing of sustainability issues. In addition, the socio-institutional context played an important role in the development and implementation of the new laying hen husbandry system. Keywords: sustainability, interaction, interactive framing, laying hen husbandry system.