Non-technological Innovations Research Articles

Types of Innovations in Enterprises of the Republic of Moldova

In the current context, innovation is essential for the survival and maintenance of competitiveness for many enterprises and economies. There are different ways in which an enterprise can innovate. Generally, there are 2 types of innovations – technological and non-technological innovations. Enterprises in their innovation eff orts can choose one of these 2 types or, for increased competitive advantages and additional gains, they can apply multiple types of innovations simultaneously. This study presents a brief analysis of scientific literature in the field, the analysis of the innovation activities of enterprises in the Republic of Moldova with emphasis on the types of innovations adopted. The technological and non-technological dimensions of innovation within enterprises are identified, it is deter-mined which types of innovations are most preferred by enterprises in the country, and a comparison is made of the development of types of innovations compared to previous years/

Dynamic Capabilities, Innovation, and Sustainable Competitive Advantage under Environmental Uncertainty in Textile Industry

This study examined the relationship between dynamic capabilities and sustainable competitive advantage through technological and non-technological innovation under environmental uncertainty. The proposed interactive model has been explained using the dynamic capabilities theory. Data were collected from 246 managers in the textile manufacturing industries in Pakistan through a two-point survey. The measurement model showed excellent psychometric qualities for all variable measures. Findings provide that dynamic capabilities have a significant positive relationship with sustainable competitive advantage mediated by technological and non-technological innovations in parallel and serial ways. Environmental uncertainty accelerated the positive impact of dynamic capabilities on both these forms of innovation, leading to sustainable competitive advantage. Findings emphasize the importance of dynamic capabilities in the manufacturing industry and support investment in developing such capabilities, which enhance industry innovation and competitiveness

Impact analysis of innovation and gendered constraints in the fisheries sector of southern Ghana

This paper adopts the multinomial endogenous treatment effect approach to analyze the impact of innovation choices on the income of 230 fish workers in the Greater Accra and Central regions of Ghana, while the Kendall’s ranking technique is applied to analyze the constraints to innovation. Findings show that technological and non-technological innovations available to fish workers have positive impacts on their income. Specifically, savings, credit access, and support service are identified to have positive impacts on income while gender and membership of a fish workers’ association have negative impacts on income. The most pressing constraints to innovation faced by female fish workers are cultural/ethnic restrictions, social exclusion, and time constraints. On the other hand, a high dependency ratio and discrimination in access to resources are the most pressing constraints faced by male fish workers. The paper recommends that stakeholders should continue to offer support services to fish workers. In addition, lending institutions should make credit accessible at lower interest rates. Interventions by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and development agencies that aim to solve constraints of fish workers should be approached from a gender dimension.

Determinants of technological and non-technological innovation: empirical insights from Indian manufacturing industries

PurposeThis paper empirically explored the influence of external and internal factors on technological and non-technological innovation of 5747 Indian firms. The study also explored novel insights about manufacturing firms by segregating them into high-technology and low-technology industries.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed hierarchical regression analysis to analyse a cross-sectional dataset gathered from the World Bank enterprise survey. The firms are segregated into high-technology and low-technology industries based on the technology-intensity classification of the manufacturing industry given by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.FindingsThe main results highlight that technological and non-technological innovation was primarily driven by internal resources and capabilities rather than external factors. The authors found the highest effect of research and development spending on both forms of innovation. In both high-tech and low-tech industries, technology transfer is positively associated with technological innovation and negatively associated with non-technological innovation. Furthermore, external business support has substantially influenced non-technological innovation in low-tech industries.Originality/valueThis study used two-step hierarchical regression to explore the influence of external and internal factors on technological and non-technological innovation separately. Exploring determinants of innovation in high-technology and low-technology industries also brings the distinct prerequisites of enhancing innovation to the attention of policymakers and industry experts.

Innovative potential of research on Productive Chains in the Rede Bionorte and PPGBIOTEC Graduate programs between 2010 - 2020

This study analyzes research on the theme of production chains that have been the subject of research in the Biotechnology Postgraduate Programs of Rede Bionorte and PPGBIOTEC/UFAM, since its inception, between 2010 and 2020. The study is based on primary research in the Programs database, using the productive chain theme as a filter to select proposals with innovation and possible solution proposals. Methodologically it is a qualitative and quantitative study, with a systematic review of publications in selection by filters by theme. Fourteen surveys were identified, tabulated and qualitatively evaluated, highlighting those with some indication of technological innovation, non-technological innovation, technology transfer, skills developed in chains, biofuels, fruits and public policies. In terms of Technological Innovation, seven studies were identified that met the established criteria. It is concluded that there is great potential for innovation if the findings of the work carried out are deployed in actions in this sense.

A configurational approach to innovation performance: The role of creativity

In this study, we analyze new ways of conceptualizing improvements in firms’ innovation by implementing the “right-factors configuration,” illustrated through an analog of a recipe and its ingredients. Specifically, we research the multiple combinations of three ingredients (creativity, innovation networks, and resources) required to accomplish the innovation recipe. Using a sample of firms from a Spanish science and technology park, we apply qualitative comparative analysis (QCA)—specifically, fuzzy-set QCA (fsQCA)—to test the importance of each component in technological and non-technological innovation. First, the results suggest a map of combinations of innovative ingredients with eight possible patterns. Second, they show that the only ingredient needed is the combination of a creative climate and creative intensity. Finally, the methods of obtaining technological and non-technological innovations differ. The implications for management and policymakers are discussed, and directions for future research are highlighted.

INNOSERV: Generalized scale for perceived service innovation

Existing scales for Service Innovation focused mostly on technological newness in firms where the non-technological components were ignored. This study emphasizes the need for measures that could include both technological and non-technological constructs from customer perspective across a range of sectors. Mixed Method approach was adopted where qualitative techniques like in-depth interview, focus group discussion were used for item generation and purification followed by quantitative tests like PCA, EFA and path analysis to establish the item validation. A 22 items scale named INNOSERV with seven major typologies that measure service innovation was developed. Theoretically this study helps in emphasizing the importance of considering non-technological innovation to be viewed while measuring performance by the service industry. Managerially, the scale could be adopted by the service industry in understanding how their customers perceive or diffuse their innovation activity. For society, this scale organization understands that non-technological innovation also plays a major role in contributing to economic, social and environmental sustainability. This study highlights the need for exclusive approaches, theories and measurement tools which are essential to be defined in the service sector.

Structured mathematical modelling on innovation management in project-oriented small construction firms

The significance of innovation management in triggering and sustaining increase in corporations of distinct size, age or enterprise type, is receiving growing attention, yet scant empirical research have been carried out in project-oriented service firms, in particular small-scaled enterprises. This study aims to identify how innovation management in small construction firms could enable them to pursue innovation and achieve greater business performance. Data collection comprises 157 empirical surveys leading to a conceptual framework modelled using the structural equation modelling approach. The findings show that entrepreneurship and networking have a direct and considerable influence on both technological and non-technological innovation, which consequently improves firm performance.

Gender diversity in firm ownership: Direct and indirect effects on firm-level innovation across 29 emerging economies

Despite recent evidence linking various measures of gender diversity in the firm with firm-level innovation, we know little about the mediating channels underlying this relation. Building on and extending the Upper Echelon and entrepreneurship literature, we address the following question: how, i.e., through which mediating channels does gender diversity in ownership-management gets at the heart of firm innovation? We use cross-sectional survey data collected in a random sampling of 7848 firm owner-managers across 29 emerging economies during 2012–2016 to test our hypotheses. Our findings demonstrate both direct and indirect effects of our focal independent variable. Specifically, firms with greater gender diversity in ownership are more likely to invest in R&D and rely upon external capital, with such differentials explaining sizeable proportions of higher likelihoods of overall innovativeness, as well as technological and non-technological innovation exhibited by their firms. Our post-analytical extensions reveal gender diversity among the workforce and human-resource-management practices that support employees' creativity and learning as additional mediating channels through which gender diversity in ownership likely impacts firm innovation. Furthermore, gender diversity in ownership allows firms from less-advanced emerging economies to catch up in their overall innovativeness with firms from more-advanced emerging economies.

Firm-Level Innovations in an Emerging Economy: Do Perceived Policy Instability and Legal Institutional Conditions Matter?

Innovation has become a key factor of production, driving and sustaining firms’ productivity and competitiveness. Despite the growing importance attached to innovations, existing studies have produced different results on the factors driving firm-level innovations. This study investigates the factors driving innovations in the service and manufacturing sector firms in Thailand. The study tests proposed hypotheses using cross-sectional data on a sample of 613 firms from the World Bank enterprise survey of 2016. Our empirical results show that specific aspects of the business environment, such as policy instability, legal institutions, corruption, and informal competition, negatively influence non-technological innovations. Contrarily, we find that formal training, foreign technology licenses, research and development have marginal and additionality effects that positively enhance both technological and non-technological innovations. We provide practical implications for firm managers and policymakers in Thailand on adaptive measures to improve the business environment to make it conducive for firm-level innovations.

Организационно-управленческие инновации в электронной промышленности России: современные тренды

The electronic industry is one of the most dynamically developing industries in the global economy and has a significant impact on the pace of development of related industries and the level of technological independence of states. Various types of external trade and economic sanctions imposed by Western countries and the strengthening of the import substitution policy in the Russian economy require a revision of the vectors for the development of electronic industry enterprises. The withdrawal of some foreign companies from the Russian sales market at the same time makes it possible to increase demand for domestic products and increases the requirements for the development and production of electronics in Russia. The analysis of scientific works shows that at the present stage of production development, non-technological innovations, including organizational and managerial ones, are an important component of increasing the competitiveness of industrial high-tech enterprises. The purpose of the study: to determine the level of development of organizational and managerial innovations in the Russian electronics industry. The implementation of this goal required the solution of the following tasks: to define the concept of organizational and managerial innovations in accordance with modern standards, to determine the degree of development of the topic of organizational and managerial innovations in electronics industry enterprises in Russian publications, to compare the levels of implementation of organizational and managerial innovations in the electronics industry and other domestic industries. This paper analyzes the level of implementation of organizational and managerial innovations in the Russian electronics industry. According to the modern 4th edition of the Oslo manual (international standard in the field of innovation statistics), the definition of the concept of organizational and managerial innovations is given. On the basis of statistical data, the level of development of this type of innovation in relation to product and process innovations was determined, and a comparison was made with respect to high-tech and all Russian organizations. Interest in the introduction of organizational and managerial innovations in the global industry has increased significantly in recent years, so understanding the current situation in the development of this type of innovation in the Russian electronics industry can contribute to the development of strategies for the development of this industry.

Effects of non-technological innovation on technological innovation of small- and medium-sized enterprises: The role of the local business environment

Although non-technological innovation has been found to have influences on technological innovation of firms in the literature, some studies suggest it has no effect on technological innovation. It is unclear why these inconsistent findings have emerged. This study utilises longitudinal data from the biennial surveys of Vietnamese manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises and data from the Provincial Competitiveness Index surveys during the period from 2011 to 2015 and applies various estimation techniques. Findings demonstrate that the effects of non-technological innovation, which includes organisational and marketing innovation, on product and process innovation vary with the quality of the local business environment. Enterprises operating in a higher-quality local business environment have a higher probability of adopting product and process innovation than others. These findings suggest that policies to improve the business environment should be combined with other innovation policies to facilitate innovation of small- and medium-sized enterprises in transition economies.

Towards A Deeper Understanding of the Relationship between Structural Reconfiguration Capacity, Technological and Non-technological innovations, and Firm Performance

Small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, the backbone of the Southeast Asian economy, are struggling to operate and maintain profitable growth in the face of the COVID-19 epidemic. During the recovery process, technological and non-technological innovation is a major factor in enterprise efficiency and profitability. However, it is unclear what drives manufacturing enterprises to innovate in technological and non-technological approaches and how they choose to implement innovation to keep their businesses growing and successful. Therefore, to answer this issue, this research develops and empirically tests a model based on dynamic capabilities and innovative perspectives utilizing World Bank Enterprise Survey data from 789 manufacturing enterprises in Southeast Asian countries. The hierarchical regression model assists create prediction equations to test technological and non-technological innovation as the mediators of structural reconfiguration and innovation investment on firm performance. The results reveal that structural reconfiguration and innovation investment impact technological and non-technological innovation. Additionally, structural addition and investment in formal R&D have a moderated impact on technological innovation. Finally, firm performance may be boosted by organizational innovation.

Exploring microAKIS: farmer-centric evidence on the role of advice in agricultural innovation in Europe

ABSTRACT Purpose To provide novel empirical evidence on the role of advice in technological and non-technological innovation uptake decision-making processes from the perspective of European farmers, we develop the microAKIS (farmer microscale knowledge and innovation systems) framework. Design/methodology/approach The MicroAKIS framework is expanded to gather empirical evidence built on quantitative data from a sample of 675 European farmers. Findings Different types of innovation lead to different microAKIS, and farmers’ involvement with innovation introduces new dynamics in advice supply. MicroAKIS supporting innovations tend to be small in size and diversity, suggesting the anticipated pluralism of advice resulting from advisory services privatisation across Europe did not work as expected, i.e. not translating into pluralistic microAKIS. Practical implications Pluralism in advice for innovation is needed and could be enhanced by integrating different sources of advice: professional and non-professional, formal and informal, agricultural and cross-sectorial. Theoretical implications We advance the scope of the AKIS concept by accounting for the temporal dynamics of innovation uptake decision-making and adopting multi-level analysis that combines micro (farm) and meso (region) scales. Originality/value Empirical evidence at the European level, gathered from the common farmer’s perspective on the dynamics of farm-level microAKIS and the role played by farm advisory, accounting for diversity of innovations and regional contexts.

Exploring the Top-Priority Innovation Types and Their Reasons

This is a foresight study to explore the top priorities of innovation types and the reasons behind them with respect to artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and the Internet of Things (IoT). This study set up two research strategies. One of the research strategies is to make the research design and methods fit with this study’s intellectual queries. Another strategy is to use the triangulations of method, analysis, data source, and researcher. This study selected expert panels, the Delphi technique, and interviews. In the collection of the qualitative and quantitative data from 23 experts through the Delphi surveys, it organized respectively the qualitative and quantitative data analysis. This study conducted the two main data analyses–Delphi results and interview data. Service innovation of AI and process innovation of IoT are chosen as a top-priority-innovation type. Marketing innovation of big data, as non-technological innovation, is selected as a top-priority innovation type. Through the interviews with 17 experts, for each of the pairs, all the experts said that the three technologies can have greater technological capabilities going beyond the existing capacities of relevant technologies. AI as hyper-intelligence can help to provide more customized or sophisticated converging offerings, the regulation of various non-standardized services and service provisions through the interaction between AI and customers or employees. The technological capacity of big data and the need of customer preferences can lead marketing innovation. IoT can create the new or improved process of the manufacturing, production, and supply chain areas through hyper-connectivity in terms of quality, quantity, speed, and coverage of information.

High-Quality Development of Leisure Agriculture in Jiangsu Province in the New Period: From the Perspective of Non-Technological Innovation

How to innovate leisure agriculture in the new period is the core issue in the high-quality development of leisure agriculture. The research holds that whether it is the macro “trend of leisure agriculture system supply”, the middle “characteristics of leisure agriculture industry itself” and the micro “characteristics of leisure agriculture enterprises”, it is the rational choice to choose non-technical innovation for the high-quality development of leisure agriculture in the new period. With the acceleration of technological innovation, the importance of non-technical innovation has become increasingly prominent. The organization for economic cooperation and development (OECD) and the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) have not only expanded the definition of innovation, but also increased marketing innovation and organizational innovation. These two kinds of innovations are not technological innovations in themselves, but they are of great significance to the growth of productivity and economic development. Taking Jiangsu as the research area, it took two years (2020–2021) to conduct a field survey on 31 representative leisure agricultural enterprises in seven cities of southern, central and northern Jiangsu. The results showed that non-technological innovation factors were the key to these representative enterprises' competitive advantage, but it was also found that Jiangsu leisure agricultural enterprises needed systematic support from non-technological innovation to “excellence”. Based on industrial economics, technological innovation economics and evolutionary economics, this paper tries to build a non-technological innovation system of leisure agriculture in Jiangsu province, and puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions for the high-quality development of leisure agriculture under the system construction from two dimensions of government and enterprises.

Determinants of Technological and non-technological Innovations: Evidence from Ghana’ Manufacturing and Service Sectors

ABSTRACT This paper aims at investigating the various factors driving technological and non-technological innovations in the manufacturing and service sectors in Ghana. We argue that numerous previous studies have shown that digitalization, firms’ collaborations, access to finance, engaging in research and development and certain firm characteristic such as age, size and ownership influence firms’ aptitude and incentives to be innovative. However, in the context of developing countries like Ghana, we do not know whether these same determinants also have positive effects on stimulating innovations at the firm-level. Using a sample of 549 firms sourced from the World Bank Enterprises Survey conducted between 2007 and 2013, this study finds that the adoption of digitalization promotes non-technological (organizational) innovations than technological innovations. We also find that firms’ innovation collaboration with consultants and universities rather exert no impact on technological and non-technological innovations. Our finding show that internal R&D enhance technological innovations and not non-technological innovations. The main practical implications of the study are that attempts to boosting firm-level and developing countries innovation potentials should mainly focus on improving internal R&D and innovation support activities, expanding access to finance, and upgrading Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure to enhance digitalization.

Education and digitalization, the path to a more sustainable, resilient and secure society

Abstract The world experience proves that the development of the innovational society is directly linked to the concept of human capital through the development of the sectors where the accumulation of human capital takes place and primarily in the sphere of education and science. This paper is an exploratory research based on the analysis of macroeconomic indicators on digital performance, highlighting the progress made in terms of digital competitiveness, as well as on the digital framework and systemic conditions for education. The educational system is in a continuous dynamic; to cope with changes, this system is forced to make intensive use of creative techniques at all levels of it. However, in this context, many teachers are concerned about standardised processes and tests, compared to creative ones. Creativity has been and is combined with science: art and technology turn people’s ideas into facts. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the importance of innovation for growth (especially economic growth) was recognized, but the question of non-technological innovation is also raised. To this end, consideration was given to the processing and systematisation of secondary data taken from official reports prepared and published by the European Commission. Thus, we refer to the reports of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) and the Human Capital Index (HCI) with reference to Romania, in the time horizon 2018-2020. The DESI 2020 reports are based on 2019 data. The UK is still included in the DESI 2020 and the EU averages are calculated for 28 member states. The DESI has been recalculated for previous years to reflect changes in the choice of indicators and corrections to the data. Human capital is a key trigger for sustainable, inclusive economic growth, but investment in health and education has not received the well-deserved attention. The index establishes a direct link between improved outcomes in health and education, productivity and economic growth.

Value propositions for improving the competitiveness of short food supply chains built on technological and non-technological innovations

There has been growing consumer demand for the products and services of the short food supply chains (SFSCs) in recent times. A procedure was developed to identify the technological and technological innovations that can improve the performance and competitiveness of the SFSCs. The needs of the SFSCs for innovative solutions were collected by interviewing 18 SFSCs from 9 countries. An inventory was prepared to contain 136 technological and non-technological innovations, meeting these needs. The innovations were collected from the good practices of the 18 SFSCs, experiences of the project partners and state of the art. The success factors and bottlenecks of each short food supply chain operation and their current value propositions were identified. From the inventory, those innovations were selected for each short food chain case study which can be applied to eliminate or reduce the bottlenecks or enhance the success factors leading to new, upgraded value propositions with increased added value for the consumers. The new, upgraded value propositions can serve as a starting point for developing a strategy for improving the competitiveness of a short food chain organisation through the application of innovations.

Application of digital solutions to improve the operation of short food supply chains

Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are today widely promoted due to the positive impact on social, economic and environmental sustainability. However, short chains face several specific challenges (e.g., meeting the requirements of consumers and ensuring optimal operations). The application of innovative solutions and digitalisation can support the actors of SFSCs to achieve these goals. Solutions and methods were collected based on the innovativeness and applicability of SFSCs. Systematic analysis of the needs of SFSCs for technological and non-technological innovations was carried out by partners of the SmartChain project. Based on the research, recommendations were made for the participating SFSCs regarding potential innovations. A significant proportion of the identified solutions have digital elements that were collectively assessed as a suitable solution in the case of the studied SFSCs. The current work provides an overview of the potential implementation of the collected innovative solutions having digital elements and addresses the primary needs and issues of SFSCs where the application is relevant. Highlighted areas of performance are marketing, communication, packaging and labelling, and logistics.