The strategic role of a label in the formation of a market. The case of SRI in France.

Summary The Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) market has been growing steadily for the past few years, but remains very marginal among individual investors despite the creation of labels indicating approaches that take into account extra-financial criteria. The objective of this article is to understand this difficulty by constructing an analysis grid based on three main elements: the interest and characteristics of a label, the organizations promoting a label, and the competitive dynamics between labels. A longitudinal analysis based on these elements allows us to verify the effectiveness of labeling in structuring a market. The relevance of the approach is illustrated in two mature markets: fair trade and organic agriculture. Our main conclusion regarding SRI is that the expected effect of structuring the market through labelling is still in the making. Two weaknesses are identified. On the one hand, the attributes highlighted by the existing labeling reflect much more the point of view of producers (management companies) than of consumers (investors). On the other hand, SRI is distributed through the network of banks and insurance companies, a network for which the strategic stakes are much lower than those of fair trade or organic farming in the corresponding sectors. It is when the label becomes a commercial issue that the corresponding market gradually acquires its maturity.