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This study deals with the impact of resource scarcity on the innovation performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper is to scrutinise whether resource scarcity among SMEs has an effect on their innovation performance.

The sample was based on panel data for 302 SMEs from the mechanical and electrical engineering sectors. Firms were divided into four groups by resource scarcity: human resource scarcity, financial resource scarcity, both types of resource scarcity and no resource scarcity. To test for significant inter-group differences in innovation performance, multivariate analysis of covariance and a multiple discriminant function analysis were carried out.

The results indicated that resource scarcity can have a positive effect on incremental but not radical innovation performance in SMEs. However, the authors found this to be true for financial resource scarcity only.

These results may not be applicable to all SMEs, as the authors only focused on the industries of mechanical and electrical engineering. Future studies should focus on analysing the internal structures of SMEs that led to this study’s results. More research should also be conducted on ways that resource-limited SMEs can appropriately conduct radical innovations. Finally, resources should be made available for both practitioners and academics, explaining why the acquisition of resources is not always be the best option in response to limited resources.

These results indicate that resource-constrained SMEs, especially those that struggle with limited finances, should concentrate their innovation activities on incremental rather than radical innovations.

This study closes the knowledge gap as to whether it is beneficial for resource-limited SMEs to focus on either incremental or radical innovation. From the theoretical viewpoint, the resource-based view provides two strategies for resource-limited SMEs: acquiring new resources or recombining available resources. The authors were able to clearly demonstrate for the first time that the recombination of resources is especially important for SMEs that specifically wish to pursue incremental innovation.

Multifunctional teams have become commonplace in new product development (NPD) endeavors. Knowledge on the functioning of such teams, however, remains little. In this article two major principles about how these teams function are investigated, team cooperation and team integration. A theoretical discussion indicates that there is not a clear‐cut way to manage team cooperation and team integration in order to achieve high performance. The management of these principles in NPD teams is rather a delicate managerial challenge. These theoretical considerations are statistically examined then. The results show that both team cooperation and team integration are inversely U‐shaped related to NPD team performance. In managerial terms the results imply that creating the right level of team cooperation and team integration managers have to balance their actions between two extremes. The article finishes by presenting opportunities how to do so.

The purpose of this research is to focus on the role of trust in knowledge sharing. Social capital researchers have put forward trust as an important force behind the sharing of knowledge. This study aims to investigate whether trust indeed explains knowledge sharing relationships, or whether there are in fact much more important drivers of the sharing of knowledge in new product development projects.

A survey study was carried out in large new product development projects, including 23 teams and 91 individuals.

The main finding is that trust is a poor explanatory of knowledge sharing. Team membership, on the other hand, has the largest effect on the density of knowledge sharing relationships. Social capital thus does not reside in trust but in team membership, especially for longer‐lived teams.

There should be more attention for other aspects affecting knowledge sharing, including team characteristics.

This article will be of use to organizations conducting new product development, wishing to manage knowledge sharing as social capital. Moreover, this article provides more insight on the value of the trust in knowledge sharing and offers directions for future theory development.

This study analyses new product development (NPD) processes of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper is to find successful innovation processes of SMEs on the one hand, and to reveal starting points to further improve these processes on the other.

Data were gathered from 49 semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with German firms. From the total of 49 cases, the authors identified three manufacturing SMEs with high-performing innovation processes, whose NPD processes the authors took as best practice examples. The authors then used the design structure matrix to map these three NPD processes, and optimised the sequence by applying an optimisation algorithm.

The authors determined which activities could be done sequentially, in parallel, or overlapping. The authors also scrutinised the position of dynamic milestones and demonstrated that the best-performing SMEs had flexible NPD processes, which allowed for an accelerated innovation process.

Due to the qualitative design of the investigation, the research presented was not specifically designed to draw statistical generalisations. For this reason, the results may not be applicable to all SMEs.

The authors recommend that SMEs uncouple activities as much as possible. In this regard, the findings revealed that that especially technical and economic activities may be conducted in parallel due to their low dependence.

The paper offers an SME-specific NPD process to optimise the innovation performance. Moreover, the findings deliver new knowledge on how the best-performing SMEs innovate.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate contingency factors on the emergence of university spin-off firms. The institutional and organisational factors the paper explores comprise the transfer potential of the university, the strategy and characteristics of the University Technology Transfer Organisations and specific support for spin-off formation.

Based on a unique data set, this cross-sectional study analyses the population of 54 higher education institutions in Germany. At this, 31.4 per cent of the German universities with technology transfer activities participated in this study.

The research identifies a high degree of heterogeneity in the qualification of University Technology Transfer Offices (UTTO) staff and the existence of an entrepreneurship support programme as important antecedents of spin-off formation. In addition, the results reveal that pursuing different or multiple transfer strategies will not be detrimental to the establishment of spin-offs.

It seems that there is still a lack of consensus with respect to the importance of spin-offs as an effective channel to transform research results into economic value. Furthermore, universities aiming at the promotion of spin-offs need appropriate regulations which do not jeopardise the usage of research outcomes for entrepreneurial purposes.

This study contributes to enhance the knowledge on what promotes and inhibits the formation of university spin-off firms, as it first analyses a considerable population of UTTOs in Germany and explicitly considers underexplored and new contingency factors.

The paper aims to examine the role of social networks of children on the diffusion of an innovation.

The impact of social networks on the adoptive behavior of children is measured in the study and then compared to more traditional marketing strategies. Therefore an experiment was conducted on three primary public schools in The Netherlands, with children aged eight to 12.

The paper finds that a child's centrality in his/her social network was the most important determinant for adoptive behavior. The higher a child's centrality in his/her social network, the stronger a child's adoptive behavior. In addition the findings show that traditional marketing strategies such as mass media appeared to have no impact on adoptive behavior at all.

Results indicate that instead of focusing on traditional marketing strategies for children, more attention should be paid to a child's social network position.

The number of studies in the field of social networks and the impact on adoptive behavior of children, is very small. The results of this study show that additional research on this subject would be highly valuable, from both academically and business point of view.

The goal of this research is to fill the gap in lead users' research under children. An effort is made to analyze the characteristics of lead users in social networks of children. Furthermore, their role in the adoption and diffusion of innovations is examined.

An experiment is conducted at primary schools in The Netherlands, with children aged between 8 and 12 years. An innovation is introduced in a social network (school class). Lead users are identified and their adoptive behavior is examined.

The following characteristics of lead users are identified in this study. Lead users have an efficient place within a social network, which allows them to receive diverse and non‐redundant information. They have a higher familiarity with the product category, and they are perceived as experts by their peers. Finally, lead users are more likely to be boys than girls. This study discovers as well that there is a significant positive relationship between lead userness and the current use of the innovation and the intention to use it in the future.

This research is only performed in one kind of product category in one particular market. Additional research should strengthen the findings of this research and explore the possibilities to generalize these findings. Further research should focus more on exploring additional characteristics of lead users, which will enhance the identification of lead users in networks of children. From a marketing point‐of‐view it would be interesting to investigate the influence of media on lead users and a lead users' ability to influence the diffusion of an innovation.

This paper is unique together with the paper of Kunst and Kratzer, because it investigates the lead user method in networks of children. It makes a first effort to determine the characteristics of lead users in networks of children. This is vital because it enhances the identification of lead users, consequently organizations can involve them in the development process of innovations.

Microfinance is seen as the tool for poverty elimination. It provides loan to that particular section of the society which is not included in the mainstream financial system. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of Microfinance on the lifestyle of women. The study is undertaken to address the question whether the Microfinance actually reach to the root of poverty and improve the standard of living for women who are considered to be the poorest of poor. This paper also aims to acquire the deeper understanding of the entrepreneurial skills which may or may not be inculcated with the help of Microfinance.

The paper is based on empirical data. The data were collected through structured questionnaire and purposive sampling was used. The respondents were the women beneficiaries of the Microfinance Institutions in the National Capital Region. Total of 117 women were personally interviewed to obtain the response for the questionnaire.

Microfinance helped to develop entrepreneurial skills among the women as acquiring loan helped them start their own microenterprise and support themselves and their family. Microfinance enhanced the participation of women in the household decision-making. As a result, after obtaining Microfinance, women were found to be more socially developed and empowered. Also, the gender gap seemed to have narrowed as a result of Microfinance.

The findings of the study are limited to the National Capital Region.

Microfinance will be beneficial for women and lead to their empowerment when they have control over the usage of the loan. Microfinance institutions play an important role in facilitating women to become self-reliant. With the help of this paper, one can understand the role of Microfinance in uplifting the marginalized section of the society.

The research work is authentic and original as per the understanding. This paper gives an insight into how Microfinance can not only eliminate poverty but also help women develop the entrepreneurial skills. The paper explores into the issue of how gender inequality can be addressed through Microfinance.