Innovation Activities Of SMEs Research Articles

Effect of Credit Access on Innovation Activities in Smes: a Mediating Role of Bribery and Bargaining Power

The paper uses data from 104 developing countries varying from 2010 to 2019 period to examine the effect of credit access on firm innovation. The paper first regressed the model with full sample, then with sub-sample by size, legality and bribery to check the moderation effect of bargaining power and bribery. The findings of the regression analysis demonstrate a favorable relationship between corporate innovation and loan access. For companies with higher negotiating strength (proxies by firm size and legality), this effect becomes more significant. However, the influence of financial availability on corporate innovation is likely to be hampered by the perception of bribery. Finally, the paper brought some policy implications to the paper, especially for developing countries.

CEO characteristics and the Doing-Using-Interacting mode of innovation: a new upper echelons perspective

ABSTRACT Little is known about how, and through which characteristics, CEO effects DUI mode innovation activities in SMEs. Thus, we connect the DUI mode concept with business management research and use data from 40 qualitative interviews in German non-R&D-based, but innovative SMEs. Applying the upper echelon concept as an analytical framework our results show that the CEO acts as an important moderator and mediator between DUI learning mechanism and innovation performance. In particular CEO’s values and cognitive base may help to increase innovation activities of the employees. Our paper is the first that empirically applies CEO’s psychological attributes of the upper-echelons concept to DUI innovations in non-R&D SMEs. We have developed a new version of the upper echelons model as well as hypotheses gained from the qualitative data analysis that are ready to be tested with quantitative procedures to improve the upper echelons theory concerning DUI-led innovation processes in SMEs.

Do R&D resources affect open innovation strategies in SMEs: the mediating effect of R&D openness on the relationship between R&D resources and firm performance in South Korea’s innovation clusters

ABSTRACT This study shows how R&D resources improve firm performance, taking advantage of open innovation activities in SMEs. It focuses on the mediating effect of R&D openness on the relationship between R&D resources and firm performance in SMEs. We employ secondary data of 1,046 SMEs located in South Korea’s innovation clusters wherein scientific knowledge and technologies are efficiently created, transferred and utilised. The findings show that R&D resources (technological, human and financial resources) and R&D openness in SMEs positively affect firm performance. On the one hand, only SMEs with more financial resources (R&D investment) achieve better firm performance via a higher degree of external R&D collaboration. Fewer technological resources or more financial resources in SMEs can be a motivation for external collaboration. Differentiated open innovation strategies are required depending on the characteristics of R&D resources in SMEs in order to improve firm performance.

From closed to open: A comparative stakeholder approach for developing open innovation activities in SMEs

Recent literature on open innovation (OI) highlights the need for studies regarding the factors that influence firms to switch from a closed to an OI strategy. At the same time, stakeholder literature points out the scarcity of knowledge regarding antecedent factors fostering collaboration with the firm's stakeholders and their engagement for higher value creation. To fill these gaps, we propose an analytical framework for implementing a strategic OI process through the development of stakeholder engagement. Our framework comprises 17 factors grouped in five levers: knowledge, collaboration, organizational, strategic, and financial. We empirically applied this framework to two industrial SMEs. A qualitative study was conducted based on semi-structured interviews with internal and external stakeholders of both firms. The results show that one company successfully implemented the OI process, while the other struggled to evolve from a traditionally closed innovation model to a more open model. Analyzing the results, we identified several aspects that could explain this difference. These aspects concern the OI activities performed by both firms, the combination of the five levers into a coherent OI approach, stakeholder engagement, and the characteristics of the CEOs. The current study contributes insights for theory and practice, especially as it proposes an original framework for developing a strategic OI process that integrates a stakeholder approach.

Intellectual Property Rights and Firm Performance of Service Firms: The Mediation Effect of Innovations

Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are limited by the period of time and condition in the commercialization of products, so that the owner can acquire a monopoly position in the market. This study examines the effects of intellectual property rights on corporate performance through innovative activities of SMEs. In particular, we analyzed whether the effects of firm’s intellectual property rights on service and product innovation, process innovation, organizational innovation, and marketing innovation, and the effect of each innovation on corporate performance. The study examined 3,750 valid samples surveyed by STEPI (Science and Technology Policy Institute) and all hypotheses except two of the nine hypotheses were accepted. Among four innovation activities of SMEs, three innovation activities, excluding marketing innovation activities, positively influenced firm performance. This study is noteworthy in that it examined the importance of intellectual property rights in SMEs through the result that intellectual property rights directly and/or indirectly impacts the firm performance through various innovation activities. In other words, since SMEs are not enough to realize better profits in a high market competition where the cost reduction and the enhancement of product and service quality have been necessary, our findings suggest that continuous innovation activities and technological development through intellectual property rights and the launch of new products and services can be a driving force for the survival and growth for SMEs.

How Do Biotech Cluster Firms Catch Knowledge Spillovers? The Strong Impact Of The Institutional Mechanisms

This paper deals with the nature of the mechanisms supporting knowledge spillovers diffusion in high-tech clusters. The literature in the geography of innovation focuses on the existence of local knowledge spillovers, which are enhanced by geographic and technological proximity. However, the mechanisms explaining the diffusion of spillovers are not well understood. If knowledge spillovers exist, how does this knowledge diffuse among the actors? Do spillovers spread in the air, as suggested by Marshall? Or, are there mechanisms that explain their dissemination?
 Based on a firm survey data base and an original methodology, the paper explores the determinants of knowledge spillovers. The paper has twofold purposes; the first one is to determine the main mechanisms within a region enabling the diffusion of spillovers. The second objective is measuring the impact of these main mechanisms on firm’s innovation performance, indicating which of these mechanisms are more effective in transporting knowledge spillovers between agents. The results show new empirical evidences on the role played by institutions[1] in the dissemination of externalities. However, informal mechanisms, such as face-to-face contacts commonly stressed in the literature, have no significant and negative effects in this case.
 [1] Institutions are defined here as a kind of structures that matter in structuring social interactions (Hogdson, 2006). Institutions can enable or constraint choices and actions. So it can enhance agent behaviors and actions that otherwise would not exist. According to this definition, formal institutions supporting R&D and innovation activities of SMEs in the biotech industry can enable or constraint actions of these firms regarding accessibility to critical resources available in a given region such as knowledge, information, finance, etc. Finally, we can assume that Institutions structures can explain variation in regional innovation performance.

On Process Innovation Capabilities in SMEs: A Taxonomy of Process‐Oriented Innovative SMEs

Relatively little attention has been paid to the study of the strategic management of process innovators and their capabilities. This paper contributes to our understanding of process innovation by analyzing responses from 4,208 SMEs which introduced only process innovation, and no product innovation. Our study was set up specifically to allow us to identify and isolate process innovation activities in SMEs. Findings reveal two distinct innovation patterns among process innovators, one characterized primarily by the acquisition of embodied knowledge and external support from suppliers, and a second centered on the development of R&D and high absorptive capacity, accompanied by organizational innovation.

DO SMES CLUSTER AROUND INNOVATION ACTIVITIES? DISCOVERING ACTIVE, INCREMENTAL AND OPPORTUNISTIC INNOVATORS

Do SMEs cluster around different types of innovation activities? Are there patterns of SME innovation activities? To investigate we develop a taxonomy of innovation activities in SMEs using a qualitative study, followed by a survey. First, based upon our qualitative research and literature review we develop a comprehensive list of innovation activities SMEs typically engage in. We then conduct a factor analysis to determine if these activities can be combined into factors. We identify three innovation activity factors: R&D activities, incremental innovation activities and cost innovation activities. We use these factors to identify three clusters of firms engaging in similar innovation activities: active innovators, incremental innovators and opportunistic innovators. The clusters are enriched by validating that they also exhibit significant internal similarities and external differences in their innovation skills, demographics, industry segments and family business ownership. This research contributes to innovation and SME theory and practice by identifying SME clusters based upon their innovation activities.

Innovation Drivers Analysis of the Medium and Small-Sized Enterprises in Jilin Province

As an important force of innovation, SMEs’ innovation ability directly affects the process of innovation in China. Innovation activities of SMEs in Jilin Province reflected unclear innovation strategy, inadequate investment, lack of creative talents and so on. Technology Innovation of motivation can be divided into external motivation and internal motivation. In the the lower stage, innovative depends on external motivation and in the the higher stage, innovative depends on internal motivation. External motivation includes external technical systems self-renewal, market competition and government policy guidance. While internal motivation includes the mission of entrepreneurs, corporate middle backbone technology innovation passion and the enterprise culture of innovation.

Drivers and Effects of Internationalising Innovation by SMEs

This paper investigates the drivers and the effects of the internationalisation of innovation activities in SMEs based on a large data set of German firms covering the period 2002-2007. We look at different stages of the innovation process (R&D, design, production and sales of new products, and implementation of new processes) and explore the role of internal resources, home market competition and innovationrelated location advantages for an SME’s decision to engage in innovation activities abroad. By linking international innovation activities to firm growth in the home market we try to identify likely internationalisation effects at the firm level. The results show that export experience and experience in knowledge protection are highly important for international innovation activities of SMEs. Fierce home market competition turns out to be rather an obstacle than a driver. High innovation costs stimulate internationalisation of non-R&D innovation activities, and shortage of qualified labour expels production of new products. R&D activities abroad and exports of new products spur firm growth in the home market while there are no negative effects on home market growth from shifting production of new products abroad.