Innovation in Geographical Indications: An Integrative Literature Review and Research Agenda

Geographical indications (GIs), as intellectual property (IP) instruments, are a value-adding strategy that can be driven by innovation. Innovation has been systematically studied in GIs since the mid-2000s, but this knowledge is fragmented. Our contribution seeks to fill this gap by organizing knowledge about innovation in GIs, identifying the types of innovation predominant in the literature and the returns associated with different types of innovation for GIs. To carry out the study, we conducted a systematic review with a sample of 40 scientific articles extracted from the Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, and Science Direct scientific databases. The results indicate a clear emphasis on innovation in production processes, in marketing and sales, and in the administration of GIs. However, product innovation remains a less explored area, due to challenges related to preserving the traditional characteristics of certified products. The innovative strategies adopted by GIs highlight the relevance of innovation in various domains, resulting in improvements in operational performance, differentiation, business management and improvement of the portfolio and product quality. Our findings have theoretical and practical implications.