Limagrain: A Cooperative Spirit Among the World's Seed Leaders

Abstract

Limagrain is a strange company: the first international independent seed producer, and a local cooperative. This paper investigates the relationship between this company's identity, organizational structure, and its innovation strategies. The main objective of the company is to help the farmers (who are both shareholders and stakeholders) maintain a central place in the agricultural economic system. However, the innovation strategies that have been developed accordingly face important internal tensions as well as external viability problems.