The processes of structural change and modernization in the food distribution industry have been submitted to different economic and institutional frameworks in European countries. Three essential factors have affected structural change in Spain: 1) the role of technical and organizational innovations, 2) institutional factors such as regulation and market structures, and 3) foreign direct investments. This article discusses with the framework of the “latecomers.” In these countries, the factor of innovation has been produced in terms of appropriation, whether this is technological or organizational, usually influenced by foreign models or through direct foreign investment. The impact of these innovations has been highly conditioned by inflexible institutional surroundings. Considering the Spanish food trade in the last sixty years is a good way understanding processes of structural change in Mediterranean Europe. This research helps one understand the role taken by countries, which introduced factors of innovation and growth in less favourable surroundings than those of developed Europe.

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