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One of the most crucial sources of sustainable business in this increasing changing environment is innovation. Innovation leads to improvement of product, services and process and at the same time it allows firms to survive, grows and gets more profits than non-innovators with continuous advancement. This study aims to determine the innovativeness of technology-based SMEs and to investigate the relationships between innovativeness and business performance. This study adopts a quantitative method where the respondents were the owners/ top managers of technology-based SMEs in Malaysia.  Results from quantitative study indicate that technology-based SMEs in Malaysia are innovative and innovativeness has significant and positive impact towards business performance. This study would add to the body of knowledge by examining innovativeness in technology-based SMEs.

Open innovation has so far been studied mainly in high-tech, multinational enterprises. This conceptual paper on innovation ecosystem studies scrutinizing open innovation practices that has been applied by firms focusing on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Within the review, we defined the innovation ecosystem, explaining on the innovation issues in SMEs, open innovation as well as close innovation. SMEs pursue open innovation primarily for market-related motives such as meeting customer demands, or keeping up with competitors. Their most important challenges with open innovation are securing the trade secrets. However, SMEs have option either to proceed with open innovation or closed innovation. Open and close innovation has its benefit and weakness; therefore SMEs must identify their main objectives in the business. The future directions of this issue are discussed.

This study explores the strategic links between organisational capital and innovation performance in Australian SMEs. This study classified organisational capital as information technology as per hardware and software; and equipment or machinery that was applied in the firm. A sample involving SME from various industries was adapted from the Business Longitudinal Database (BLD) from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The analyses validate that information technology capabilities is essential for achieving innovation performance. However the relationship decline over time for different type of innovation. Thus, SME managers should be carefully in investing in appropriate information technology in order to facilitate innovation in their firm.  Key Words: SMEs, Organisational capital, Innovation, Australia

Manuscript type: Research paper Research aims: Currently, machinery is replacing most human capital to save cost, but the value of human capital that contributes to the performance of SMEs is invaluable. SMEs were used to explain the connection between human capital and SMEs performance in South Australia. Design/Methodology/Approach: Five case studies on SMEs in South Australia were used in this study. The analysis of qualitative data entailed data coding, within-case analysis, and cross-case analysis. Research findings: The cross-case analysis result is unsurprising considering that all five firms depend on their employees to work and keep the firm in operation. The cross-case analysis results are mixed in respect to the connection between human capital and the several types of performance measurement. The results, therefore, need to be interpreted with caution. SMEs perform solely through the skills, experience, and knowledge of their employees. This distinction occurs when the knowledge and information that employees gain are focused directly on the employee’s initiative, decision-making and critical thinking skills. Investment in human capital should be done carefully based on the limited resources of SMEs. Theoretical contribution/Originality: Most research has shown the link between human capital and firm performance. However, the degree to which investment in human capital contributes to the type of performance is yet to be explored based on qualitative data especially regarding SMEs in South Australia. Practitioner/policy implication: The sustainable development goal (SDG) entails a steady improvement in people’s well-being in a good environment. Thus, decisions about investment in human capital and the use of temporary workers should be taken jointly by personnel managers, in accordance with the size of the firm. If this holistic view is ignored, a full understanding of the impact of human capital on the firm’s performance will be obscured. On the other hand, a common feature that large and small firms share is an incompatibility between human capital and temporary employment. Research limitation/implications: The main limitation of this study was the sample of the study that comprised solely of South Australia SMEs. Thus, this study outcome may not be generalisable to the whole Australia as a country. Further investigation across different states would expand knowledge of the complicated patterns of HC. Keywords: Human capital, SME, Productivity, Profitability, South Australia JEL Classification: M12