The emergence, articulation and negotiation of a new food industry initiative in rural Australia: Boundary object, organisation or Triple Helix model?

This paper reports on research to track and trace the development and diffusion of a new initiative for clustering a diverse range of agri‐food businesses located in the rural state of Tasmania, Australia. The initiative is termed ‘FermenTasmania'. To structure our analysis, our research team leveraged the concepts of boundary objects and organisations, and the Triple Helix model of innovation; testing these sociological concepts and model as a means to explain the nature, structure and emerging trajectory of FermenTasmania. This paper aims to contribute two distinct, but related findings: first, analysis of the fit and utility of the aforementioned concepts and model to track the emergence of FermenTasmania; and, second, assessment of the dynamics of innovation regarding the formation of this new social entity bridging agriculture and tourism in a rural area, with particular attention to the role of place.