Governance, Quality Conventions, and Product Innovation in a Value Chain: The Case of the Spanish Salted Fish Market

In the literature on governance of value chains, innovation deserves further attention. This paper investigates the role of product and marketing innovations in making an industry or a region a market leader. What kinds of innovations, who has the power to implement them, and who is involved in the innovation process vary depending on the extent of integration in the value chain and its governance. Quality management in the value chain should be central to the product innovation process. Against the backdrop of this institutional framework, the paper examines the Iberian salted fish market.