Maladaptation of regulation to hybrid organizational forms

This paper argues that standard regulatory policies might be inadequate and may even introduce perverse effects when applied to hybrid organizational forms. Using the case of the “certifying system” adopted for several French agricultural products as a benchmark for the discussion, with particular insights provided by the label chicken case, the paper emphasizes the tight coordination process required by the characteristics of the transactions at stake as well as by the necessity to send adequate signals to consumers. However, unadapted regulations tend to misinterpret the resulting contractual arrangement as collusion. This interpretation is challenged here: The form adopted achieves a high degree of efficiency and reduces transaction costs without reducing competition. We conclude that a new approach to regulations may be required, combining two criteria: contestability and remediability.