Purpose

In a context where the process of creation of technology and innovation for agriculture is being disrupted at a fast pace, the authors proposed to study one of the most prominent agtech innovation ecosystems. Therefore, this paper aims to identify key characteristics that make California’s agtech innovation ecosystem remarkable.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is an exploratory and descriptive research carried out in a twofold. First, data were collected through documental research focusing on actors such as universities, R&D centers and programs, business accelerators and venture capital platforms, agtechs, as well as multinational companies. Second, structured interviews were carried out to complement the secondary data collected and to obtain experts’ perception on the relationships between actors of the ecosystem and on the characteristics that make this ecosystem remarkable.

Findings

The paper provides empirical insights about the relevance of California's agtech innovation ecosystem to creation of radical innovations in agriculture. It has a differentiated environment, where educational and research institutions play a key role in developing new knowledge. It also shows how important funding is to allow new business to succeed. Additionally, it shows that actors interact in a complex network, with multiple roles. All these key characteristics allow this agtech innovation ecosystem to be so remarkable.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to survey a larger number of actors of this and other agtech innovation ecosystems to test the identified key characteristics further.

Practical implications

The paper includes indication of characteristics necessary to develop a prominent agtech innovation ecosystem, which may contribute to decision makers to develop policies aiming to promote this type of ecosystem.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to open the “black-box” of agtech innovation ecosystems, which may then allow radical innovations within the sector to be developed and taken to the market.

中文翻译：

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加州创新生态系统：农业科技的出现和新的农业浪潮

目的

在农业技术和创新过程被快速打乱的背景下，作者提议研究最突出的农业科技创新生态系统之一。因此，本文旨在确定使加州农业科技创新生态系统显着的关键特征。

设计/方法/方法

这篇论文是一项探索性和描述性的研究，以双重方式进行。首先，数据是通过文献研究收集的，重点关注大学、研发中心和项目、商业加速器和风险投资平台、农业科技以及跨国公司等参与者。其次，进行结构化访谈以补充收集的二手数据，并获得专家对生态系统参与者之间关系以及使该生态系统显着的特征的看法。

发现

该论文提供了关于加州农业科技创新生态系统与创造农业激进创新的相关性的实证见解。它有一个差异化的环境，教育和研究机构在开发新知识方面发挥着关键作用。它还显示了资金对于新业务取得成功的重要性。此外，它还表明参与者在复杂的网络中交互，具有多个角色。所有这些关键特征使这个 agtech 创新生态系统如此卓越。

研究限制/影响

由于所选择的研究方法，研究结果可能缺乏普遍性。因此，鼓励研究人员调查这个和其他农业科技创新生态系统的更多参与者，以进一步测试确定的关键特征。

实际影响

该论文包括了发展突出的农业科技创新生态系统所必需的特征，这可能有助于决策者制定旨在促进此类生态系统的政策。

原创性/价值

本文满足了打开农业科技创新生态系统“黑匣子”的确定需求，然后可能允许该行业内的激进创新得到开发并推向市场。