The role of intangible assets in promoting the sustainability of agri-food enterprises: Evidence from China

Ming Zhang, Panpan Du and Xianjin Tu

Economic Analysis and Policy, 2023, vol. 77, issue C, 928-939

Abstract: Considerable research has explored the relationship between intangible assets and firm performance in manufacturing and tertiary industries, but such studies remain scarce for the agri-food industry. In fact, numerous stresses, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have disrupted many activities along agri-food production chains in developing countries, resulting in huge pressure on sustainable agri-food production. Based on a sample of 94 A-share listed agri-food firms in China from 2008 to 2017, this study examines the impact of intangible assets on agri-food enterprises’ productivity using generalized method of moments estimation. The results reveal differences between private and state-owned enterprises, indicating that the promotional productivity effect of intangible assets held by private agri-food enterprises was insignificant in the current period, but will be manifested three periods later, in contrast to state-owned enterprises. Due to the soft budget constraints and incentive mechanism of state-owned agri-food enterprises, intangible assets will not promote productivity. In addition, by pursuing the financialization profit model, agri-food enterprises will sacrifice productivity improvement, which can further lead to selective abandonment in the use of intangible assets. Simultaneously, there is a crowding-out effect between intangible and fixed assets in promoting agri-food enterprises’ total factor productivity. The findings highlight the importance of the quality and conversion rate of intangible assets, particularly for agri-food enterprises, which are closely related to food security and stability.

Keywords: Intangible assets; Productivity; Agri-food enterprises; Sustainable production (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C33 C52 D21 H32 M41 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:77:y:2023:i:c:p:928-939

DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2022.12.028

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