To deal with challenges in agri-food chains, the French beef industry has developeddifferentiated subsystems involving greater asset specificity and difficult-to-measuredimensions. To guarantee information and property rights, it is fundamental an interactionbetween public and private mechanisms. This study aims to understand, from the TransactionCosts Economics and the Measurement Cost Economics perspectives, how privatecertification mechanisms enable value distribution among agents of a specialty beef chain inAveyron and Ségala region (France), using a qualitative approach and face-to-face interviews.Results indicated high asset specificity and dimensions subjectively measured, such asorganoleptic characteristics. We identified that the adoption of hybrid governance structuresbecame feasible through certification, reducing transaction costs. We concluded that evenunder such conditions, certification allowed governance structures other than verticalintegration.