The Intangible Assets in the Green Transition of Firms: Empirical Insights from Italy

Abstract

We empirically investigate the simultaneous relationship between the various types of intangible assets and their effects on eco-innovation adoption through a sample of Italian manufacturing firms. The results highlight a positive influence of the intangibles on the likelihood to invest in eco-innovation. We observe, when focusing on the human capital, that while investments in only employee training only directly affect eco-innovation, the investments in management training for new business models indirectly influence eco-innovations by triggering the other intangible assets (R&D and intellectual property, Organizational capital, Open innovation).