Strategic Innovation in Small Firms : An International Analysis of Innovation and Strategic Decision Making in Small to Medium Sized Enterprises

Strategic Innovation in Small Firms is an investigation of the commercialization practices of small firms across a wide range of industries in nine OECD countries. The authors examine the perspective of these firms' managers on their national innovation systems and on their firm's innovation management practices. The research is focused on understanding the process of innovation management both from the perspective of the small firm and from a broader strategic perspective. Drawing on a database of 567 cases, the contributors examine the commercialization practices of small to medium sized firms across a wide range of industries. They suggest that there are more similarities than differences to be found between countries and industries with size, level of R&D intensity and type of innovation project being important points of difference. The need for increased formality in the commercialization of radical innovations is shown, although they find that most small firms are not characterized by such formality within their innovation management processes. This multinational study in which a common methodology and case study survey protocol is employed, will strongly appeal to academic researchers and research students as well as policymakers engaged in the support for innovation commercialization in SMEs. Entrepreneurs and small business owners will also find plenty of invaluable information in this unique and important resource.