Social Innovation in Olive Oil Cooperatives: A Case Study in Southern Spain

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a notable increase in the implementation of social innovation strategies for creating products with major social impact. Despite the lack of conceptual clarity still surrounding the term, social innovation, as a participatory research method, is finding scope for growth in agricultural cooperatives, whether in the areas of R&D and knowledge transfer, or in the commercialization of innovative products. Society has underscored the need for change in the environment and the implementation of new projects that help improve socioeconomic living conditions, promoting territorial development through social transformation. In the case of cooperativism in the olive oil industry in southern Spain, cooperatives are responsible for 70% of the oil produced there. As such, the actions carried out under their influence have a huge impact on the population and serve as tools that anchor people to their municipalities. This article analyses a case study from an olive oil cooperative, exploring the development of a social innovation project involving knowledge transfer and public awareness-raising through the label of an early harvest olive oil called “Primer Día de Cosecha” (First Day of Harvest). It also assesses the impact of the project on the population of the Andalusian municipality of Bailén (Jaén).