Set within the context of recent rural restructuring in developed market economies, the authors examine the potential of niche markets for speciality food products (SFPs) to contribute towards rural development in peripheral (lagging) regions. Drawing on elements of regulation theory, actor-network approaches, and consumption studies, niche markets for SFPs are conceptualised as the outcomes of the intersecting activities of networks of producers, consumers, and institutions. On the basis of this conceptualisation and preliminary empirical evidence from a European research project, it is suggested that unique configurations of networks at local and regional levels, and their relationships to cxtralocal networks, will contribute to the success or failure of regional SFPs in promoting endogenous development. It is also argued that a focus on particular products, markets, and regions is required to gain a holistic understanding of the complex and contested network relationships through which niche markets for SFPs are constructed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbramS, 1996, “Reactions to tourism: a view from the deep green heart of France”, in Coping with Tourists: European Reactions to Mass Tourism Ed. BoissevainJ (Berghahan Books, Providence, RI) pp 174–203
2.
AllaireGSylvanderB, 1997, “Qualitié spécifique et système d'innovation territoriale”Cahiers d'Économie et Sociologie Rurales430–59
3.
BellDValentineG, 1997Consuming Geographies: We Are Where We Eat (Routledge, London)
4.
BessièreJ, 1998, “Local development and heritage: traditional food and cuisine as tourist attractions in rural areas”Sociologia Ruralis3821–34
5.
BlythmanJ, 1998, “Done like a kipper”The Guardian 9 May, page 52
6.
ChaneyD, 1983, “The department store as a cultural form”Theory, Culture and Society122–31
7.
ClarkG, 1992, “‘Real’ regulation: the administrative state”Environment and Planning A24615–627
8.
Committee of the Regions, 1996Promoting and Protecting Local Products—A Trumpcard for the Regions September, Committee of the Regions, Brussels
9.
CookI, 1994, “New fruits and vanity: symbolic production in the global food economy”, in From Columbus to Con Agra: The Globalisation of Agriculture and Food Eds BonannoABuschLFriedlandWGouveiaLMingioneE (University of Kansas Press, Lawrence, KS)
10.
CookI, 1995, “Constructing the exotic: the case of tropical fruit”, in Geographical Worlds Eds AllenJMasseyD (Oxford University Press, Oxford) pp 137–142
11.
CookICrangP, 1996, “The world on a plate: culinary culture, displacement and geographical knowledges”Journal of Material Culture1131–154
12.
FearneAKuznezofS, 1994, “Northumberland lamb: a case study of consumer attitudes towards branded fresh meat products”Farm Management8502–512
13.
FitzSimmonsMGoodmanD, 1998, “Incorporating nature: environmental narratives and the reproduction of food”, in Remaking Reality: Nature at the Millennium Eds BraunBCastreeN (Routledge, London) pp 194–220
14.
GilgABattershillM, 1998, “Quality farm food in Europe: a possible alternative to the industrialised food market and to current agri-environmental policies: lessons from France”Food Policy2325–40
15.
GoodmanDWattsM (Eds), 1997Globalising Food: Agrarian Questions and Global Restructuring (Routledge, London)
16.
GronowJ, 1993, “What is good taste?”Social Science Information32279–301
17.
HarrisonMMarsdenTFlynnA, 1997, “Contested regulatory practice, the local state and the implementation of food policy”Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series22473–487
18.
HaywardDLe HeronRPerryMCooperI, 1998, “Networking, technology and governance: lessons from New Zealand horticulture”Environment and Planning A302025–2040
19.
IlberyB, 1998, “The challenge of agricultural restructuring in the European Union”, in The New Europe: Economy, Society and Environment Ed. PinderD (John Wiley, Chichester, Sussex) pp 341–357
20.
IlberyBKneafseyM, 1998, “Product and place: promoting quality products and services in the lagging rural regions of the European Union”European Urban and Regional Studies5329–341
21.
IlberyBKneafseyM, 1999, “Producer constructions of quality in regional speciality food production: a case study from south west England”Journal of Rural Studies15 forthcoming
22.
JacksonPHolbrookB, 1995, “Multiple meanings: shopping and the cultural politics of identity”Environment and Planning A271913–1930
23.
JacksonPThriftN, 1995, “Geographies of consumption”, in Acknowledging Consumption: A Review of New Studies Ed. MillerD (Routledge, London) pp 204–237
24.
KnoxP L, 1991, “The restless urban landscape:economic and socio-cultural change and the transformation of metropolitan Washington DC”Annals of the Association of American Geographers81181–209
25.
Le HeronRRocheM, 1995, “A ‘fresh’ place in food's space”Area2723–33
26.
LienM, 1997Marketing and Modernity (Berg, Leamington Spa, Warwicks)
27.
LowePMurdochJMarsdenTMuntonRFlynnA, 1993, “Regulating the new rural spaces: uneven development of land”Journal of Rural Studies9205–222
28.
LowePMurdochJWardN, 1995, “Networks in rural development: beyond exogenous and endogenous models”, in The Impact of Endogenous Rural Development Eds van der PloegJvan DijkG (van Gorcum, Assen) pp 87–105
29.
MacleodG, 1997, “Globalizing Parisian thought-waves: recent advances in the study of social regulation, politics, discourse and space”Progress in Human Geography21530–553
McRobbieA, 1989, “Second-hand dresses and the role of the rag market”, in Zoot Suits and Second-Hand Dresses: An Anthology of Fashion and Music Ed. McRobbieA (Macmillan, London) pp 23–49
32.
MarsdenT, 1996, “Rural geography trend report: the social and political bases of rural restructuring”Progress in Human Geography20246–258
33.
MarsdenT, 1998, “New rural territories: regulating the differentiated rural space”Journal of Rural Studies14107–117
34.
MarsdenTArceA, 1995, “Constructing quality: emerging food networks in the rural transition”Environment and Planning A171261–1279
35.
MarsdenTWrigleyN, 1995, “Regulation, retailing and consumption”Environment and Planning A271899–1912
36.
MarsdenTMurdochJLowePMuntonRFlynnA, 1993Constructing the Countryside (UCL Press, London)
37.
MarsdenTHarrisonMFlynnA, 1998, “Creating competitive space: exploring the social and political maintenance of retail power”Environment and Planning A30481–498
MoranW, 1993, “The wine appellation as territory in France and California”Annals of the Association of American Geographers83694–717
40.
MorrisCYoungC, 1997, “A preliminary analysis of UK farm quality assurance schemes: ‘new deals’ for the rural environment”, paper presented at Anglo-French conference of Rural Geographers, Nantes; copy available from Dr Morris, Countryside and Community Research Unit, Department of Countryside and Landscape, Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, Cheltenham, Glos
41.
MurdochJ, 1995, “Actor networks and the evolution of economic forms: combining description and explanation in theories of regulation, flexible specialization, and networks”Environment and Planning A27731–757
42.
PerryMLe HeronRHaywardDCooperI, 1997, “Growing discipline through Total Quality Management in a New Zealand horticulture region”Journal of Rural Studies13289–304
43.
RayC, 1998, “Culture, intellectual property and territorial rural development”Sociologia Ruralis381–19
44.
RobinsonGIlberyB, 1993, “Reforming the CAP: beyond MacSharry”, in Progress in Rural Policy and Planning, Vol.3 Ed. GilgA (Belhaven Press, London) pp 197–207
45.
Rodriguez-ZuñigaM RGreenR H, 1992, “Las perspectivas del sistema agro-alimentario”Distribucion y Consumo336–44
46.
Ruiz VegaA, 1988, “Análisis del consumidor en la CEE”Información Comercial Española April, pp 143–152
47.
Scottish Food Strategy Group, 1993Scotland Means QualityScottish Food Strategy Group, Scottish Office, Room 1/44, New St Andrews House, Edinburgh EH1 3TG
48.
TregearA, 1998, “Artisan producers in the UK food system: attributes and implications”, paper presented at the Agricultural Economics Society Annual Conference, University of Reading, Reading
49.
van der PloegJLongA (Eds), 1994Born From Within: Practice and Perspectives on Endogenous Rural Development (van Gorcum, Assen)
50.
van der PloegJvan DijkG (Eds), 1995Beyond Modernization (van Gorcum, Assen)
51.
VenturaFvan der MeulenH, 1994, “Transformation and consumption of high quality meat: the case of Chianina meat in Umbria, Italy”, in Born From Within: Practice and Perspectives on Endogenous Rural Development Eds van der PloegJLongA (van Gorcum, Assen) pp 128–159
52.
WoodsM, 1997, “Researching rural conflicts: hunting, local politics and actor networks”Journal of Rural Studies14321–340
53.
YoungCMorrisC, 1997, “Intra-industry linkages in the agro-food chain: new forces for regulating aspects of food production”, presented to Royal Geographical Society—Institute of British Geographers conference, Exeter; copy available from Dr Morris, Countryside and Community Research Unit, Department of Countryside and Landscape, Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, Cheltenham, Glos
54.
YoungM, 1991, “The UK Food Safety Advisory Centre”Food Control April, pp 75–76
