Innovative firms and the urban/rural divide: the case of agro‐food system

Abstract

Emerald Fearne, A.; García Alvarez-Coque, JM.; Usach Mercedes, TL.; Garcia, S. (2013). Innovative firms and the urban/rural divide: the case of agro-food system. Management Decision. 51 (6)

What drives firm profitability? A multilevel approach to the Spanish agri-food sector

“…Moreover, rurality does not turn out as constraining for profitability of the food industry in Navarre. This is consistent with the results of García-Alvarez- and Fearne et al (2013), who show -particularly for micro and small firms-that rurality is not perceived to be a significant constraint for performance. Moreover, urban districts can also be characterized by higher competition and thus lower profits (Melitz & Ottaviano, 2008;Lu et al, 2012).…”

Determinants of Agri‐food Firms’ Participation in Public Funded Research and Development

“…Determinants of innovation in agri-food firms were also previously considered in Fearne (2013) and Garcia Alvarez-Coque et al (2013), showing that rural areas do not represent a handicap per se. R&D activities are the result of interactive processes that involve many different players and institutions, maintained through bilateral relations between actors, but also through access to R&D networks, many of regional relevance (Fernández &Rubiera, 2013 andVan Hemert et al, 2013) involving institutions that aim to generate innovations or new knowledge.…”

Innovation behaviour and the use of research and extension services in small-scale agricultural holdings

“…The RES institutional setting may not be effective in a context where knowledge gathering is part of an informal web or network of practice (Oreszcyn et al, 2010). Innovative farmers may have alternative ways to share knowledge beyond the RES, as it happens with those engaged in cooperatives (Fearne et al, 2013). On the other hand, we are interested in the cultural characteristics that motivate farmers to get advice from RES.…”

“…Furthermore, understanding the influence of the AKIS in a local context is essential for the innovation policy research and spillover process in SMEs (Audretsch et al, 2005;García-Quevedo et al, 2013). Rurality does not seem to prevent SMEs from participating in R&D projects, and geographical proximity to technological centres does not appear to provide a significant advantage for innovativeness Fearne et al, 2013). Farmers can be more or less innovative and use RES to varying degrees, and both characteristics can be observed together and separately.…”