From humble hives to commercial colonies: a case study of knowledge-sharing in a transitioning industry

Abstract

Knowledge-sharing behaviour determines the adoption patterns of users in a sociotechnical system. Knowledge-sharing ensures that technologies meet the needs of society at individual user, aggregated practice and social system levels. As sociotechnical systems are susceptible to transitions, the system is dynamic. Knowledge-sharing processes support the trajectory of innovation, and hence the trajectory of the system. The New Zealand apiculture industry is currently at a crucial inflection point, which will affect the future provision of pollination services. Pollination is an integral part of the agri-food system, the precursor to one-third of the nation’s export crops. While commercial pollination beekeepers have a history of cooperation, the industry is currently undergoing a transition towards a more competitive model. This study utilises an ethnographic case study to investigate the unspoken norms of pollination practice and unquestioned behaviours of sharing knowledge within the pollination network to investigate knowledge-sharing behaviours in the commercial pollination industry; giving insight into innovation and practice in a transitioning sociotechnical system. Based on three theories, (1) knowledge-sharing contexts, (2) the diffusion of innovation and (3) knowledge diffusion network theories, this study identified an interplay of influences and a sociotechnical transition. Top-down pressure from legislative and regulatory frameworks resulted in changes to practice level norms and individual innovation activity. Growing competition in the apiculture industry has forced members in the commercial pollination network away from relational collective-learning roots, towards transactional interactions and fierce protection of proprietary knowledge. The reduction in knowledge-sharing behaviour within the network has resulted in misaligned expectations towards pollination innovation, and dissonant relationships between orchardists and beekeepers. Subsequently, this study highlights opportunities to introduce technology-based solutions to impediments in pollination practice, as well as areas for improvement in knowledge-sharing across the commercial pollination network.