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1 – 10 of over 38000Minseo Kim, Ji-eung Kim, Yeong-wha Sawng and Kwang-sun Lim
This study aims to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of corporate technology innovation activities.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of corporate technology innovation activities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study empirically analyzes the effects of research and development (R&D) capability on patent and new product development achievements on innovation-type small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by using the “Report on Korean Innovation Survey 2010: Manufacturing Sector” data released by the Science and Technology Policy Institute.
Findings
The results of the study indicate that staffing of the concentration of R&D human resource team and efforts toward open innovation are essential factors for the creation of corporate performance.The number of persons of the concentration R&D team in particular makes up essential resources for patent acquisition and new product development. In addition, in case of an SME’s with relatively poor resources, it is necessary to acquire resources, both material and immaterial, learn from the external R&D activities and internalize those into key corporate capabilities rather than step up the R&D activities on their own.
Originality/value
The results of this study indicate that innovative small enterprises need to secure the number of R&D human resource members for maintaining sustainable competitiveness and securing market share. Therefore, a strategy is needed that would enable employing and raising excellent human resource in the quantitative and qualitative aspects. However, in the circumstances that small enterprises suffer difficulty in securing professional human resource for R&D compared to large enterprises, as there is a limitation for securing human resource for R&D from only the dimension of enterprises, governmental and political support is thought to be necessary for securing good-quality human resource for R&D. Accordingly, the results of this study provide many implications for the necessity of detailed methodology on how to expand professional human resource for R&D among supporting policies for technical innovative enterprises and to establish innovative strategies of enterprises.
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George Tovstiga and Ekaterina Tulugurova
This paper seeks to present and discuss research that investigates the impact of intellectual capital practices on enterprise performance in small innovative enterprises (SIEs) in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to present and discuss research that investigates the impact of intellectual capital practices on enterprise performance in small innovative enterprises (SIEs) in the St Petersburg, Russia region.
Design/methodology/approach
Research fieldwork uses a survey questionnaire focusing on technology‐intensive SIEs in the St Petersburg region, supported by a select number of follow‐up interviews. The research analysis is based on quantitative statistical evaluation of the research data.
Findings
Intellectual capital, particularly structural and human capital, is perceived by Russian managers of SIEs to be a primary determinant of enterprise performance, thereby substantiating the importance of the resource‐based view for enterprise performance – even in the transitional economy of Russia.
Research limitations/implications
The research reported in this paper is limited by the relatively small sample size of firms surveyed; the quantitative research is based on perceptions of managers.
Practical implications
The research points to some key dimensions of intellectual capital‐related practices that are particularly important for enterprise performance.
Originality/value
The research reported in this paper brings together a unique combination of research related to the resource‐based view of the firm in the setting of small innovative enterprises in a transitional economy environment.
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Pimporn Phukrongpet, Hanvedes Daovisan and Panarat Satsanasupint
The purpose of this study is to explore the drivers of innovative behaviour of sustainable community-based enterprises (SCBEs) in the Mahasarakham province, Thailand.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the drivers of innovative behaviour of sustainable community-based enterprises (SCBEs) in the Mahasarakham province, Thailand.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on insights from a qualitative case study method, this paper uses a purposive sampling technique with 30 SCBEs from December 2019 to December 2020. This study uses in-depth interviews and applied content analysis (e.g. theme, categorisation, quotation and coding), using the ATLAS.ti software.
Findings
This case study shows that transforming the community into an enterprise is related to creation, venture and innovative management, sustained in community-based enterprises. The findings reveal that innovative behaviour is associated with intention, thinking, orientation, product development, service, collaboration, competition and technology, which drives SCBEs.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the understanding of community-based group and cooperative community-based enterprise with innovative behaviour, which can drive SCBEs growth.
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George Tovstiga and Ekaterina Tulugurova
This paper aims to present the findings of an empirical study that examines and compares the competitive impact of intellectual capital on enterprise performance in small…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the findings of an empirical study that examines and compares the competitive impact of intellectual capital on enterprise performance in small innovative enterprises (SIEs) situated in four geographical regions: St Petersburg in the Russian Federation, the Black Forest region of Germany, the “Medicon Valley”, situated between Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmo in Sweden, and Silicon Valley in the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
The research seeks to investigate potential differences in intellectual capital practices across the four regions while comparing the impact of these relative to the firm's external factors (socio‐political, technological, and economic) for enterprise performance. To that end, the research reported builds on and extends earlier research focused on Russian SIEs.
Findings
The research findings suggest that intellectual capital practices and their impact on enterprise performance are more similar than different across the regions studied, and that the firms' intellectual capital constitutes the more important determinant of enterprise performance relative to external factors. This does not preclude differences in intellectual capital practices between the regions studied. These differences are marginal, however, and reflect socio‐economic and national cultural factors unique to those regions investigated.
Research limitations/implications
The key questions of the research address the relative impact of intellectual capital practices (internal factors) and prevailing socio‐political, economic, and technological factors on the performance of small innovative enterprises. The work presents an extended sample size of Russian companies (also from St Petersburg) and an extension of the earlier study to include the three additional geographic regions. The notion of the knowledge‐based theory of the firm forms the conceptual basis of the framework that is developed to relate intellectual capital (human capital and structural capital) and key external factors (socio‐political, economic and technological) to enterprise performance in SIEs.
Practical implications
The study compares the perceived importance of intellectual capital and external environmental factors for enterprise competitiveness of companies in the four regions – Russia, Germany, Denmark, and the USA. The research provides evidence that intellectual capital is perceived to be the most important factor driving competitive performance in all the regions.
Originality/value
Similar to the research reported in an earlier paper by the same authors, the paper represents work in progress. As such, the outcomes and conclusions reported should be viewed as preliminary findings.
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Moinak Maiti, Victor Krakovich, S.M. Riad Shams and Darko B. Vukovic
The paper introduces a resource-based linear programming model for resource optimization in small innovative enterprises (SIE).
Abstract
Purpose
The paper introduces a resource-based linear programming model for resource optimization in small innovative enterprises (SIE).
Design/methodology/approach
The model is grounded on resource-based view on the firm and dynamic capabilities approach. Linear programming technique is used to provide the actual framework to the resource-based model.
Findings
The paper introduces a new resource-based linear programming model for resource optimization in small innovative enterprises. The conceptual model is grounded on resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities strategy. The RVB of firm and firm strategy is based on the concept of economic rent. Linear programming technique is used to provide the actual framework to the resource-based model. In developing the versatility concept, study suggests a distinct sight regarding resource fungibility. Study classifies resources into multipliable, rentable and expendable resources to increases adequacy of the model. The developed model includes both tangible and intangible assets such as human capital. The survival rate of SIE in the early stages of life cycle is very low due to the competition among SIEs. In this regard, the greatest advancement of the developed resource-based linear programming model is its simplicity and versatility which is much desirable for the SIE especially in their initial stages of the life cycle. Kelliher and Reinl (2009) argued that micro firms have unique advantage over bigger firms in following term: rate of learning or redeployment of strategy in micro firms is faster than the rate of change in their environment. One very significant feature of the developed resource-based linear programming model is that mathematically the proposed model could easily be transformed into mixed integer or stochastic linear programming models to meet the time variant requirement of small firms especially when it expands its operation.
Research limitations/implications
The survival rate of SIE in the early stages of life cycle is very low due to the competition among SIEs. In this regard, the greatest advancement of the developed resource-based linear programming model is its simplicity and versatility which is much desirable for the SIE especially in their initial stages of the life cycle. Kelliher and Reinl (2009) argued that micro firms have unique advantage over bigger firms in following term: rate of learning or redeployment of strategy in micro firms is faster than the rate of change in their environment. One very significant feature of the developed resource-based linear programming model is that mathematically the proposed model could easily be transformed into mixed integer or stochastic linear programming models to meet the time variant requirement of small firms especially when it expands its operation.
Originality/value
One very significant contribution of the present study is that the study develops a new resource-based model for SIE especially for the SIE in the initial stages of the life cycle, to gain competitive advantages. Furthermore, the present study contributes to the existing literature in strategy at least in three senses as mentioned below: 1. further addition of SIE research based on the RBV and dynamic capabilities in the strategy literature 2. in developing the versatility concept, the study suggests a distinct sight regarding resource fungibility and it classifies resources into three categories as follows: multipliable, rentable and expendable resources to increases adequacy of the model. 3. Finally, the study introduces a new resource-based linear programming model for SIE resources allocation. To the best of author’s knowledge, no such similar model is introduced by any previous studies for small firm. The greatest advancement of the developed resource-based linear programming model is its simplicity and versatility.
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Yuri Simachev and Mikhail Kuzyk
For at least the last 10 years, the Russian authorities have been declaring the need to move to an innovative path of economic development. The government actively initiates and…
Abstract
For at least the last 10 years, the Russian authorities have been declaring the need to move to an innovative path of economic development. The government actively initiates and applies various instruments and measures to promote innovation. However, the effectiveness of the Russian innovation policy is still in question. The chapter examines the evolution of state policy to foster innovation growth in Russia since 2000 and describes some sets of achievements and problems for different stages of this policy. In addition to analysis of changes in the innovation sphere at the macro-level, we discuss the primary motivations and limitations at the micro-level (firm level). As a result, the critical institutional barriers to innovation-based growth are revealed. In the same time, certain successes have been achieved in some sectors, and we consider various opportunities to improve Russian technological and innovation policy.
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Roberto Chierici, Debora Tortora, Manlio Del Giudice and Barbara Quacquarelli
The study aims to investigate whether and how digital transformation, in terms of digital collaboration, joint efforts with internal/external partners to achieve common goals and…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to investigate whether and how digital transformation, in terms of digital collaboration, joint efforts with internal/external partners to achieve common goals and the adoption of digital tools supporting this practice, affect social innovation capital in the context of small innovative enterprises (SIEs).
Design/methodology/approach
The research hypotheses derived from the analysis of the literature, evaluating how sharing resources, sharing intensity and digital patterns affect the collective capacity of SIEs to innovate, were investigated by applying multiple regression analysis. Data were retrieved from a sample of Italian SIEs through an online survey.
Findings
The main findings suggest that the propensity to spread resources and the sharing intensity positively affect the collective capacity of SIEs to innovate. Also, the effect of resources sharing on collective innovation increases as more digital patterns are used as tools. The connection is weaker for the intensity of resources sharing.
Research limitations/implications
The study is conducted on Italian SIEs, a particular cluster of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It would be interesting to compare and contrast the results of an analysis of a large sample of international companies, of different sizes and belonging to digital and non-digital sectors.
Originality/value
The results enrich the existing literature on social innovation capital, by clarifying its competitive benefits on the characteristic context of the SIEs and underlining the mediating role of the digital patterns.
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Li Tang, Philip Shapira and Yu Meng
This paper aims to explore pathways and issues of small business technological commercialization in China, probing the particular characteristics of the Chinese context and the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore pathways and issues of small business technological commercialization in China, probing the particular characteristics of the Chinese context and the ways in which innovation frameworks, institutions and business strategies are embedded.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors examine in detail the case of an innovative Chinese indigenous small firm engaged in innovative nanotechnology materials development. The strategies and push- and pull factors underlying the company’s innovation practices were investigated. The proposition that the institutional relationships formed to secure access to research expertise and aid business survival also influence the ways in which technology is commercialized was explored.
Findings
It was found that while technological development is company-driven, it is also highly connected to regional innovation structures and networks. This stimulates a “spin-in” rather than a university-led model of development, as this small firm embeds its technology and business development strategies in conjunction with partner organizations. Broader management and policy implications are discussed.
Originality/value
While China has rapidly expanded scientific research in emerging technologies such as nanotechnology, commercialization through the development of entrepreneurial technology-oriented small companies faces a series of challenges. New enterprises in the emerging area of nanotechnology encounter problems of technology transfer and intellectual property management, capital acquisition, market uncertainty and constrained access to global markets.
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The aim of this study is to determine the context of short‐ , medium‐ and long‐term functional strategies of small‐ and middle‐sized family businesses carrying on activities in…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to determine the context of short‐ , medium‐ and long‐term functional strategies of small‐ and middle‐sized family businesses carrying on activities in different sectors, as well as to discuss the findings from the point of view of the strategic orientations required by global competition.
Design/methodology/approach
The data of this research, having explorative characteristics, were gathered from the 36 owners‐managers (from 111 people) who were leaders in constituting the strategies of their businesses. The survey used in the study consists of 32 items regarding management/human resource management, marketing, production, and finance functions. The data were evaluated with the descriptive and variance analyses.
Findings
The paper finds that the enterprises participating in this study apply or plan to apply, in the short term, institutionalism and customer‐focused strategies. However, financial problems limit the attempts for developing and growing, which creates a risk for the life cycle of the businesses which cannot grow up to the right scale in the right time. Another major concern pointed out in this study is that the enterprises whose owners/managers are the members of any commercial and social organization respond to innovations and change more rapidly.
Research limitations/implications
One of the main limitations of the study is that the owner/manager perceptions were the only source of data. The lack of a measure of the efficiency level of functional strategies and practices or performance of enterprises is the second limitation. On the other hand, the small sample size does not allow generalizations to be made.
Originality/value
This study evaluates the potential of strategic management of small and medium‐sized family businesses
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Robert Zacca, Mumin Dayan and Thomas Ahrens
The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of network capability (NC) on small enterprise performance via knowledge creation, and two dimensions of entrepreneurial…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of network capability (NC) on small enterprise performance via knowledge creation, and two dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO): competitive aggressiveness and innovativeness.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose a theoretical model that was tested using a survey instrument administered to owners and managers of small-sized enterprises within the United Arab Emirates. Theory development was assisted by semi-structured interviews with an independent sample of owners and managers of small enterprises.
Findings
The results show that NC is positively related to knowledge creation and that competitive aggressiveness and innovativeness are key mediators between knowledge creation and firm performance.
Research limitations/implications
The study contributes to theoretical development by integrating the domains of NC and knowledge creation to EO and small business performance. The authors show that the conversion from NC to small business performance is mediated by knowledge creation and the two dimensions of EO: innovativeness and competitive aggressiveness.
Practical implications
The study findings present interesting practical implications for small business owners seeking to shift their firm’s orientation toward being more entrepreneurial.
Originality/value
The study highlights the crucial role innovativeness and competitive aggressiveness play as mediators when the relation between knowledge creation and small business performance is examined.
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