Sustainability-oriented innovation and co-patenting role in agri-food sector: Empirical analysis with patents

Abstract

This study investigates sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) in the agri-food sector, which is one of the most influential industries in a country, through empirical analysis involving patents. Specifically, the causal relationship between SOI outputs and economic performance in the agri-food sector, as well as the moderating role of co-patenting, are investigated. Economic performance is measured based on firms’ production value and EBITDA growth. SOI is evaluated using SOI patents, that is, patents that refer to SOI concepts, as defined in the literature. After a general investigation involving 1,938,355 patents (the number of patents in the agri-food sector from 2000 to 2019), the panel data regression models demonstrate that in the agri-food sector: (1) SOI outputs are related to economic performance, measured as production value growth and EBITDA growth, and (2) co-patenting moderates specific circumstances. Thus, the results confirm that economic performance and SOI outputs are linked. Moreover, to increase firms’ economic performance, it may also be important to increase the development of joint patents in the agri-food sector.