Importance of Innovation for European SMEs: Perception of Experts

Abstract

<jats:p>Innovation is one of the most important ways in which small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) gain competitive advantage, drive the economy and generate new jobs. Many researches have been conducted to determine which practices contribute to the development of innovation in SMEs. However, adoption necessarily requires awareness of its importance to the organization's results. This study is based on data collected from innovation experts based in the European Union with a broad knowledge of the SME reality of that economic bloc. By means of variables constructed from the seven rules of innovation (Davila et al., 2006), the study measured the experts’s opinion on the relevance that SMEs attribute to the factors that lead to innovation, according to the degree of development of their countries. Conversely, SMEs from less developed countries seem more aware of the benefits that innovation can bring to their businesses. Regarding the factors analyzed, (1) incorporation of the concept into the business and (2) innovation alignment with the company strategy were those that presented the best averages, according to experts consulted.</jats:p>

Inovação e outsourcing: o caso da Volkswagen do brasil

“…Qualquer empresa com tendência inovadora, deve apoiar novas ideias, promover processos criativos destinados a desenvolver novos produtos e serviços. Deve ainda, tomar iniciativa de antecipar e procurar novas oportunidades de negócios e participar em mercados emergentes (Arenhardt, Simonetto & Rodrigues, 2018).…”

Revisiting Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises’ Innovation and Resilience during COVID-19: The Tourism Sector

“…The study is also focused on the importance of innovation and resilience within this pandemic context, since "innovation has become increasingly important for the survival of SMEs and for establishing a competitive advantage over their competitors" [6] (p. 22). Furthermore, Turo ń and Kubik [7] enhance the importance of analyzing the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of open innovation.…”

Proposta De Uma Estrutura Conceitual Para a Implementacao Da Inivacao Aberta Em Pme Familiares

“…El entorno actual plantea desafíos para todas las organizaciones; sin embargo, esta realidad es enfrentada de distintas formas y magnitudes para muchos entendidos; la empresa más pequeña suele enfrentarse a un entorno externo más incierto que una empresa más grande (Arenhardt et. al, 2018).…”

“…En este escenario de constantes desafíos, la innovación se ha vuelto cada vez más importante para la supervivencia de las pymes y para establecer una ventaja competitiva frente a sus competidores (Arenhardt et. al, 2018).…”

“…El paradigma de la OI puede ser implementado en cualquier tipo de empresa del mundo (Mortara et. al, 2009); sin embargo, las pymes innovan de forma diferente a las grandes empresas pues tienen menos recursos y a menudo enfrentan más incertidumbre, así como barreras a la innovación; estas deficiencias pueden ser parcialmente superadas por su integración en los sistemas de innovación (Arenhardt et. al, 2018;Gallo, 2004;Elo et.…”