Human Resources Development, Educational Needs, Training, and Innovation: Facts From Retail Firms in the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace

Abstract

Innovation is a complex and systemic phenomenon that concerns multiple organizational dimensions, one of which is the aspect of human resources. To this end, most small firms in less developed business ecosystems appear to be facing structural innovation problems, which also come from the human resources they can employ and develop. This article aims to discuss how the retail firms in the Greek region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace perceive the issues of human resources development, education, training, and innovation. It employs the results from a questionnaire answered by a sample of 72 retail firms in this region, consisting of Likert-scale questions and open-ended short answers. It uses the questionnaire to find out the level of development and prospects of these firms over five years in the aspects of human resources, education, and training in their effort to innovate. It finds that these firms, although mostly small, desire to systematize their actions in these areas, as all grades are on an upward “physiological” business trajectory. It concludes that this field research could bear implications both for the level of innovation of the specific firms and the less developed region as a whole.