A Meta-Organisation Facing Transition: Practices, Logics of Action, and Tensions within an Economic Cluster

Abstract

An increasing body of research suggests that meta-organisations (MOs) can play a role in ecological transition. Yet their contribution remains ambivalent, particularly in the case of economic clusters, whose original mandate is primarily focused on competitiveness. This article explores how a cluster-type MO engages its members in transition, drawing on the case of Cluster Montagne, which brings together key stakeholders in mountain tourism development. The study is based on an inductive qualitative methodology, combining a 4-year immersion within the cluster with interviews, observations, and analysis of internal documents. The findings identify four distinct logics of action: facilitating projects, producing and disseminating knowledge, fostering networks, and constructing a collective narrative. These dynamics are marked by several tensions: between economic imperatives and ecological ambition, between member autonomy and governance control, and between institutional legitimation and genuine transformation. These insights extend current research on the ambivalence of MOs in addressing grand societal challenges. The article concludes by discussing the conditions under which such intermediary organisations can evolve from incremental adaptation to becoming genuine levers of transition.