The social construction of labels of origin for food products: what conciliation among contradictory interests?. The establishment of quality labels, referring to the origin, has been considered as a tool for local development processes. Nevertheless, the expectations about these labels are multiple and sometimes divergent. The establishment of a quality label cannot then be done without a process of negotiation, leading to a compromise, an agreement about its characteristics: type of label (legal concept), specifications and rules, boundaries of the area. This leads to base the study of geographical indications (GIs) on two complementary focuses: theories on commons goods and their governance, as well as contributions from the economics of conventions with regard to notions of justification, negotiation and compromise. IG is then considered as an institutional arrangement. Applied to two case studies in Mexico and Indonesia, this perspective highlights the complexity of the establishment of a GI and interests that underlie it, and asymmetries between the different actors participating.