A study on how startups approach sustainable development through intellectual property

Ohsung Kwon

Sustainable Development, 2020, vol. 28, issue 4, 613-625

Abstract: Sustainability is an important concept in various fields, from public policy to detailed principles associated with society, the economy, and the environment. Therefore, revealing the dynamic patterns of the sustainability sector is important for understanding how startups have used the sustainability concept. This study analyzes a sample dataset consisting of patents associated with sustainability and registered by startups. The results are as follows. First, the sustainability sector exhibits diversified patterns, which indicates the growth potential of the sector, measured as the number of International Patent Classification classes, Herfindahl–Hirschman index, and Shannon entropy for the robustness. Second, the corresponding technologies can be classified into three groups: The recent sustainability trend in terms of startups involves consumer‐focused technologies, whereas basis and traditional technologies have diminished in focus. Thus, the environmental government agency should consider this discrepancy when deciding future research and development investments and provide subsidies to startups effectively.

Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:28:y:2020:i:4:p:613-625

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