Reacting to Law Based Technological Change : Opportunities from Organizational Learning in Italian Poultry Sector

The ban of using Antimicrobic Growth Promoters (AGPs) in poultry sector has been recently introduced by European Union norms. This innovation of the institutional environment is really influential upon the technology in use. The study conceptualizes the poultry industry in terms of technological paradigm and technological trajectory and suggests that the expected changes are costly to achieve due to the scarcity of technological opportunities. The paper argues that the interactions among agents along the supply chain may contribute to the solution of the emerging issues. The empirical outcomes map the skill creation in the existing networks of technicians and growers supporting the exchange of information and knowledge. The empirical findings suggests that some opportunities exist to enhance the technological knowledge and contributing to the solution of emerging issues relying on the interaction among growers and processors technicians