To accelerate sustainability transitions in the agricultural sector, supporting innovations appears to be crucial and coordinating this support is necessary while posing several challenges and requiring specific capabilities. It is thus important to assess if the coordinating organisation has the necessary capabilities to endorse this role. Yet, assessing capabilities constitutes a theoretical and methodological challenge. A key difficulty lies in the divergence between capability models proposed in academic literature and those applied by practitioners. This article integrates both perspectives to develop a comprehensive conceptual model, following a four-step methodology: (i) a literature review, (ii) a workshop with field experts, (iii) application to a case study for refinement, and (iv) comparison with capability models from other sectors to identify generic capabilities. The resulting model offers a valuable tool for evaluating the capabilities required by hub organisations in service ecosystems supporting agricultural innovation. Additionally, the methodology provides guidance for researchers and practitioners aiming to design capability models for other types of organisations.
