Sustainability transitions are commonly considered impossible without regime change. Theoretical work on regime change has mainly focused on niches and landscapes and less on change ‘from within’. Empirical analysis helps theorising endogenous regime change. Conceptualising regimes as semi-coherent entities composed of multiple ‘institutional logics’, we analyse the endogenous regime change in Dutch dairy farming. Practices in this sector have become more and more market-driven. This dominant logic however was increasingly challenged by institutional logics centring round cultural identity and sustainability. Tensions particularly centred round the increased indoor housing of cows. The contestation of this practice eventually led to a first ‘crack’ in the regime, as it weakened the dominance of the market logic and enabled opportunities for more sustainability. Our case study shows that the presence of alternative institutional logics is necessary to crack the regime, but opportunities to patch it back together are similarly crucial to enable sustainability transitions.

人们普遍认为，如果不改变政权，就不可能实现可持续性转型。有关政权更替的理论工作主要集中在利基和景观上，而较少关注“从内部”的变化。实证分析有助于理论推断内源性政权变化。将制度概念化为由多个“制度逻辑”组成的半连贯实体，我们分析了荷兰奶牛场的内生制度变化。该部门的实践越来越受到市场的驱动。但是，这种主导逻辑越来越受到围绕文化认同和可持续性的制度逻辑的挑战。紧张局势尤其集中在增加的奶牛室内住房周围。这种做法的争论最终导致了该政权的第一个“裂缝”，因为它削弱了市场逻辑的主导地位，并为提高可持续性提供了机会。我们的案例研究表明，替代制度逻辑的存在对于破解该制度是必不可少的，但将其重新组合在一起的机会对于实现可持续性转型同样至关重要。