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

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 un-derstanding of the importance of trademarks for sustainable entrepreneurship. We provide several practical implications for social startups, impact investors, and policy-makers.

Automated summary

This study investigates the impact of early trademark registration on the sustainability and economic outcomes of startups. The findings suggest that startups that register a trademark within the first three years of their existence achieve significantly higher sustainability and economic outcomes. Furthermore, the geographical scope of a trademark is found to relate differently to startups' outcomes.