Innovation in agro-food chain

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer a new perspective on innovation in agro-food industry. Innovations in the agro-food industry depend on multiple forces interacting with each other under specific rules to create new ways to deal with social or economic processes. The relevance of this topic for the whole economy leads the authors to investigate main drivers of innovation in agro-food system. Design/methodology/approach – The authors provide a framework that considers the role of policies, actors and activities for innovation in the agro-food industry and tests its validity on the Campanian tomato sub-system. Findings – The authors’ framework applied to Campanian tomato sub-system shows the role of institutions, actors and activities in promoting innovation in agro-food system. Originality/value – The paper offers a new perspective on innovation in agro-food industry.