Factors that determine innovation in agrifood firms

Abstract

In this study, we aim to find the determinants of innovation in the agrifood industry in an inland region in southeast Spain, which depends upon and specializes in this sector. The determinants we propose are firm and environmental factors. From the empirical analyses based on Box–Cox models, we deduce that a firm’s internal factors or characteristics are those that have the greatest influence on its propensity to innovate. Among them, firm size has the greatest effect. Innovation culture has the potential for exerting a multiplying effect via mechanisms such as knowledge spillovers or learning by doing.