Trademarks and how they relate to the sustainability and economic outcomes of social startups

Hirschmann, Mirko; Block, Jörn

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134320

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Trademarks and how they relate to the sustainability and economic outcomes of social startups

Hirschmann, Mirko; Block, Jörn

2022 • In Journal of Cleaner Production

Peer reviewed

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https://hdl.handle.net/10993/52251

DOI
10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134320

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Keywords :

Sustainable entrepreneurship; Social startups; Trademarks; Sustainability outcomes; Economic outcomes; Intellectual property

Abstract :

[en] Prior research shows that trademarks positively relate to startups' growth and survival. However, empirical evidence on the impact of intellectual property rights (IPRs), especially trademarks, on the development of social startups' hybrid outcomes is limited. Our study aims to fill this gap by investigating how early trademarking relates to the sustainability and economic outcomes of social startups. Based on a sample of 485 social startups from Germany, we find that social startups that register a trademark within the first three years of their existence have both significantly higher sustainability and economic outcomes. Additionally, we identify that the geographical scope of a trademark relates differently to social startups' outcomes. Our results contribute to the emerging literature on startups’ role to achieve sustainability outcomes and to IPR research that lacks an understanding of the importance of trademarks for sustainable entrepreneurship. We provide several practical implications for social startups, impact investors, and policy-makers.

Research center :

- Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) > Other

Disciplines :

Strategy & innovation

Author, co-author :

Hirschmann, Mirko ; University of Luxembourg > Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SNT) > Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and New Technology (EINT)

Block, Jörn

External co-authors :

yes

Language :

English

Title :

Trademarks and how they relate to the sustainability and economic outcomes of social startups

Publication date :

2022

Journal title :

Journal of Cleaner Production

ISSN :

0959-6526

Publisher :

Elsevier, Oxford, Netherlands

Special issue title :

Assessing and forecasting the sustainability impact of new ventures: Theories, methods and empirical evidence

Peer reviewed :

Peer reviewed

Focus Area :

Entrepreneurship and Innovation / Audit

Additional URL :

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652622038926?via%3Dihub

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since 27 September 2022

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