Territory, innovation processes in SMEs, and intermediary actors: the case of the ICT sector in the Greater Montreal Area

Abstract

In this paper, we are interested in the role of the intermediary actors of a given territory and their relation to the innovation process in small businesses. Innovation and technological change evolve differently in small businesses than in large companies that have more resources and can afford the cost of research and development. Four main factors determine innovation in small businesses: strategic advantages (or market opportunities); technological competencies; organisational capacities and the decision-making process. During the innovation process, small businesses usually need the assistance of intermediary actors in order to access external resources. Those intermediaries assume what we call an 'intermediation function', that is essential for the innovation process. By using the concept of 'intermediation function', we have suggested a classification of the intermediary actors according to their contributions to the innovation process. We found that these contributions could be in the commercialisation of the product, in the knowledge base, in the financial and human resources or as sources of information. Among these contributions, the knowledge base is the one that appears to be most important for the development of small businesses and is the main contribution of the intermediary actors.