Patterns and Collaborators of Innovation in the Primary Sector: A Study of the Danish Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Industry

Abstract

Based upon a large-scale survey and case studies of innovation we explore patterns of innovation activities in the Danish agricultural, forestry and fishery industries. Our primary focus areas are the sources and capabilities of innovation. We demonstrate that despite the fact that this industry is often regarded as low-tech there are still substantial innovation activities going on. Around 23 per cent of the 640 firms surveyed had product and/or process innovation, 24 per cent had other types of innovation. A total of 46 per cent had some type of innovation. Firms delivering directly to end-users were more likely to be innovative than those delivering to the processing or wholesale links of the value chain. Many of the innovative firms had no collaboration on innovation, and respondents generally claim that stimuli for innovation were primarily internal. We also demonstrate that the industry has a very well developed extended knowledge base, which is a vital source of information and knowledge for innovation. This may explain why traditional survey instruments do not fully capture the external sources of innovation.