HI!!

With my limited knowledge I would request you to please go through articles on Small Business and Innovation like:

Roper, S. (1997). Product innovation and small business growth: a comparison of the strategies of German, UK and Irish companies. Small Business Economics, 9(6), 523-537.

Gibb, A., & Davies, L. (1990). In pursuit of frameworks for the development of growth models of the small business.

Cooke, P., & Wills, D. (1999). Small firms, social capital and the enhancement of business performance through innovation programmes. Small Business Economics, 13(3), 219-234.

Dobbs, M., & Hamilton, R. T. (2007). Small business growth: recent evidence and new directions. International journal of entrepreneurial behavior & research, 13(5), 296-322.

Hatten, T. S. (2015). Small business management: Entrepreneurship and beyond. Cengage Learning.

Love, J. H., & Roper, S. (2015). SME innovation, exporting and growth: A review of existing evidence. International Small Business Journal, 33(1), 28-48.

Chicago

I hope this should help.. Please do let me know if you need any other info. will be happy to help.

Best

Abhinav

Innovation is a key lever for competitiveness, growth and internationalization.

The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation HORIZON 2020 (H2020) supports SME that are based in the EU or associated countries. Funding is provided for innovative projects that enable SME to grow and expand their business to other countries in the European Union and beyond.

Detailed information and a treasure trove of innovation projects can be found under the link below.

https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/sme-instrument-0

Innovation supporting the growth of the small business

Well, think of now big companies like Apple, Microsoft, Phillips, Facebook, Virgin which were started in a garage, a dormroom or a church basement and now are phenomenal big and powerfull companies. Not every innovation or serial innovation will take you that far, but innovation can support the progress of a small business.

Because, what is progress? It is the advancement in a certain area of business such as service, product, customer satisfaction, profit, operation of process, sustainability.

Innovation has to contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency to create progress.

 I’ll give you one example in the sector of agriculture. In an area in Suriname (South America), the smallholder farmers are dependent on the season to grow certain crops because they grow them in open fields, where they have no control over them. Rain and sun have effects on the outcome.  Now the organization I'm advicing has introduced greenhouses. In the prototype greenhouse diffrent crops have been cultivated for a year and it shows that rain and sun are no factor if you can simulate the right environment in the greenhouse. So  one farmer has built a greenhouse and has seen the benefit of it ad is planning to build more. He can grow vegetables the whole year round providing his customers the whole year. This is an innovation which support the progress of a small business.  The farmer can make his business profitable where that was not possible in the future. 

In general technology is a driver for innovation also for the small business. New products can be innovative, but improvement of existing products or of processes can be also innovative and help the progress of small business. Usually small and new businesses can innovate easier than larger ones. The model greenhouse is being constantly tweeted en improved.

See for ideas and the meaning of innovation 'The Innovator's Dilemma' and 'The Innovator's Solution' by prof. Clayton Christensen and others. 

Dear all,

You share information and links and resources and links enclosing a knot to my question Thank you!

Again I think about how wonderfully is to have easy access to others knowledge!

It is very valuable to me all these answers...

Be in touch,

Grateful,

Ada 

The success of small business employment is determined, firstly, the creation of conditions in the country for the legal business, and, secondly, the attraction of innovative businesses. The forms of innovation can be varied.

You can also consider the following papers:

Drucker, Peter. Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge, 2014.‏

Brunswicker, Sabine, and Wim Vanhaverbeke. "Open Innovation in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises (SMEs): External Knowledge Sourcing Strategies and Internal Organizational Facilitators." Journal of Small Business Management (2014).‏

Hotho, Sabine, and Katherine Champion. "Small businesses in the new creative industries: innovation as a people management challenge." Management Decision 49.1 (2011): 29-54.‏

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Wim_Vanhaverbeke/publication/280151429_The_benefits_of_open_innovation_in_low_tech_SMEs_The_quilts_of_Denmark_story/links/55c22b2608aeca747d5dc78c?_iepl%5BhomeFeedVariantCode%5D=apmo_EU&_iepl%5Bcontexts%5D%5B0%5D=pdp&_iepl%5BinteractionType%5D=publicationDownload&origin=publication_detail&ev=pub_int_prw_xdl&msrp=EbXrVAEbsdgsZpuqqWt1%2FsGfTD1QB%2FkNENorSoViMcIP%2FSlK3nhwBqmM2PvaFKxTACb3MLyF8u8bWlfNkQZCfg%3D%3D_eq0ieoalzDVPxM8Wpfpio3uIev5Nr67kSCeCXEzpiSbulsGyyK8STWFCL7aY342FZWEETsNmIxNvYJmecpuySA%3D%3D_HqNIeZGRjT2PcYq2RCQamGkkzNCVRWa2EZVdBDAoENrHiKkL%2BCxtvTwFlRuzk2sVAJT3i8uV97oHCvQpDEQeQQ%3D%3D&inViewer=1

Chapter The benefits of open innovation in low tech SMEs: The quilts...

Chapter The benefits of open innovation in low tech SMEs: The quilts...

In addition to the above answers I am just adding a few points:-

Innovation often serves as a signal (signalling theory, legitimacy indicator)to larger corporates/venture capitalists. Since smaller firms have a paucity of resources and/or access to capital (since they have less options of showing credit worthiness, as in the case of start-up's. An alternative proposition may be to show 'promise' in the form of innovation (ideas) : as in the case of facebook, apple etcetera). A positive signal might help smaller businesses gain access to capital, access to other firms networks, or support from larger entities.

Innovation may also help get alliance/joint venture opportunities : Sometimes in the case of such JV's when the smaller firm cannot pump equity capital; the larger firm might just buy a proportionate part of the smaller firm. (When some smaller businesses don't want to get acquired or sell their business)

Innovation might help create an initial value for the firm and then, a larger firm may be interested to acquire it (at a premium). This benefits the innovator who uses (his) smaller firm as a conduit or channel to sell his idea/innovation. So the 'business' benefits by an ignition of an idea by the innovator and later gets incubated by the larger firm (if it is capable of absorbing the tacit and explicit technology) {or, it can buy the innovators idea and instate someone competent/original innovator to run the business}

Effectual thinking (choosing path and then the goal emerges)/accidental discovery or innovation (acknowledgement of something useful during ex-post analysis of that unintended event is also a type of innovation. Penicillin was discovered by accident; So if such an accident occurs at a small SME/firm and it is competent to recognize that some 'generated' resource has a potential worth it might help change course.

An innovation can be a static (discovery; innovation in product) goal  or a (continual or continuous) process (Lindbloom (1959) stated that a continuous nibbling is better than a big bite// commitment to innovation might help find new opportunities or improve current business.

These were just some points that came up.. 

Generally speaking innovation is not supporting "small business". If it's a real innovation, then it's providing the person/company with an atout that can turn the business in a big one, not a small. Therefore two options, -depending on owner attitude -: sell the company to a big one or growth. What I saw in over 25 years working for industry is around 15 "innovations", half of them were internal to the company (some of them requested explicitly by the the company direction, a few never asked and some of them never known by the management), another half of them resulted in an employee leaving the company, starting  his own busisess and selling it after less than two years. Of course I saw (audit to the company, I mean) several companies "created" by innovation (Vaisala, Kipp & Zonen, Danfoss, Yardney etc.) but these are quite old and not "small". The key factor for small business is not innovation but flexibility. Innovation - in my opinion - shall result in small business death: some other will "copy" the innovation or bought the "small business".

Hi Ada,

This paper may help.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299747565_Towards_a_talent-driven_outward-oriented_globally-competitive_SME_framework_Discussion_Paper

Technical Report Towards a talent-driven outward-oriented globally-competitiv...

Hi Ada,

Take a look at this paper also:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227722686_Shopfloor_Innovation_Facilitating_the_Suggestion_and_Implementation_of_Ideas

Article Shopfloor Innovation: Facilitating the Suggestion and Implem...

Hi Ada,

Sharing new publication on this topic

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305687139_Priority_policy_recommendations_for_transforming_individual_productivity_and_SME_competitiveness_in_Jamaica

Technical Report Priority policy recommendations for transforming individual ...