Analysis of the Innovative Process in a Small Company: A Case Study from the Local Innovation Agents Program

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14211/regepe.v7i1.785

Keywords:

Innovation, Small Businesses, ALI Program, Radar of Innovation

Abstract

The process of "creative destruction" popularized by Schumpeter has made innovation the driving force of economic development. With regard to small businesses facing economic dynamism, innovation has emerged as a way of maintaining, growing and prominent in the market. In this line, the present research aims to analyze the innovative process of a small company, from its insertion in the Local Agents of Innovation Program (ALI) in the state of Paraíba. This work has a methodological proposal of mixed approach with case study method. The choice of subject was intentional because it was a company that achieved more cycles throughout the duration of the program. The instrument for data collection was the diagnosis provided by the Innovation Radar, supplemented by intensive and extensive direct observation. The propositions found in the research emerge for a significant advance of the degree of innovation throughout the cycles, caused mainly by the influence of the learning process and leadership. The most outstanding dimensions were Network and Organization. The innovative process was significant in incremental innovations with the use of human, financial and practical resources. It was also possible to identify the existence of the factors uncertainty, orientation, strategic vision and innovation culture throughout the process of introduction and implementation of innovations. Finally, the contributory implications of this study point to the strengthening of the academic literature, regarding the relationship between innovation and small business performance.

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Author Biographies

Leisianny Mayara Costa Silva, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco - UFRPE

Mestranda em Administração e Desenvolvimento Rural pela Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco – UFRPE, Recife, (Brasil).

Ana Regina Bezerra Ribeiro, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco -UFRPE

Doutora em Engenharia de Produção pela Universidade Federal de Pernambuco – UFPE, Recife, (Brasil). Professora do Programa de Pós Graduação em Administração e Desenvolvimento Rural da UFRPE.

Bruno Ferreira Frascaroli, Universidade Federal da Paraíba - UFPB.

Doutor em Economia pela Universidade Federal de Pernambuco – UFPE, Recife, (Brasil). Professor do Programa de Pós Graduação em Economia pela Universidade Federal da Paraíba - UFPB, João Pessoa, Paraíba.

Rodolfo Araújo de Moraes Filho, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco -UFRPE

PhD em Administração pela Institut D'Administration des Entreprises – IAE, Grenoble, (France). Professor do Programa de Pós Graduação em Administração e Desenvolvimento Rural da Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco - UFRPE.

References

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Aragón-Sánchez, A., & Sánchez-Marín, G. (2005). Strategic orientation, management, characteristics and performance: a study of Spanish SMEs. Journal of Small Business Management, 43 (3), 287-308.

Audretsch, D. B. (2003). Standing on the Shoulders of Midgets: The U.S. Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). Small Business Economics 20, pp. 129–135.

Azari, M. J., Madsen, T. K., & Moen, Ø. (2017). Antecedent and outcomes of innovation-based growth strategies for exporting SMEs. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 24 (4), 733-752 .

Bachmann, D. L., & Destefani, J. H. (2008). Metodologia para estimar o grau de inovação nas MPE. Cultura do Empreendedorismo e Inovação. Curitiba, PR.

Bardin, L. (2016). Análise de Conteúdo. São Paulo: Edições 70.

Bhaskaran, S. (2006). Incremental Innovation and Business Performance: Small and Medium-Size Food Enterprises in a Concentrated Industry Environment. Journal of Small Business Management, 44 (1), pp. 64–80.

Carvalho, H. G. (2011). Gestão da Inovação. Curitiba: Aymará.

Carvalho, L. C., & Machado, D. D. (2013). Ambiente de Inovação: estudo comparativo entre três unidades de uma organização do setor metal-mecânico. Revista de Empreendedorismo e Gestão de Pequenas Empresas, v. 2, n.1, pp. 47-76.

Christensen, C. M. (1997). The innovator’s dilemma : when new technologies cause great firms to fail. Boston: Harvard Business School.

Cooper, R. S. (2003). Purpose and Performance of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. Small Business Economics, 20, pp. 137–151.

Crossan, M. M., & Apaydin, M. (2010). A Multi-Dimensional Framework of Organizational Innovation: A Systematic Review of the Literature. . Journal of Management Studies, v. 47 n. 6, pp. 1154-1191.

De Jong, J. P. (2013). The Decision to Exploit Opportunities for Innovation: A Study of High-Tech Small-Business Owners. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, v. 37, n.2, 281-301.

De Jong, J. P., & Marsili, O. (2005). The Fruit Flies of Innovation: A Taxonomy of Innovative Small Firms. Dynamics of Industry and Innovation: Organizations, Networks and Systems.

Didonet, S. R., Simmons, G., Díaz-Villavicencio, G., & Palmer, M. (2016). Market Orientation's Boundary-Spanning Role to Support Innovation in SMEs. Journal of Small Business Management, 54 (1), 216–233.

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FGV, P. (2016). 10 Anos do Simples Nacional. Cadernos FGV Projetos, 96.

Forsman, H. (2011). Innovation capacity and innovation development in small enterprises. A comparison between the manufacturing and service sectors. Research Policy, v 40, 739–750.

Forsman, H., & Temel, S. (2011). Innovation and business performance in small enterprises: An enterprise-level analysis. International Journal of Innovation Management, 15 (03), 641-665.

Ganter, A., & Hecker, A. (2013). Persistence of innovation: Discriminating between types of innovation and sources of state dependence. Research Policy, 42 (8), 1431-1445.

Gopalakrishnan, S., & Damanpour, F. (1997). A Review Economics, of Innovation Research in Sociology and Technology Management. Omega, International Journal Management Science Vol. 25, No. I, pp. 15-28.

Krause, J. (2016). Factors Hampering Innovation Activities - Case Study from the Czech Republic. Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, 11 (4) , 75-79.

Lakatos, E. M. (2017). Fundamentos de Metodologia Científica, 8ª ed. São Paulo: Atlas.

Lundvall, B. (2005). National Innovation Systems – Analytical concept and development tools. DRUID-CONFERENCE, Anais. Copenhagen, Dinamarca: DRUID.

Maia, A. F. (abril de 2012). Inovação em Micro e Pequenas Empresas: Uma análise do caso brasileiro. Acesso em 04 de Dezembro de 2017, disponível em Programa de Pós Graduação em Economia - Universidade Federal de Uberlândia: http://www.ppge.ie.ufu.br/node/217

McGuirk, H., Lenihan, H., & Hart, M. (2015). Measuring the impact of innovative human capital on small firms’ propensity to innovate. Research Policy, 44 (4), 965-976.

Nagano, M. S., Stefanovitz, J. P., & Vick, T. E. (2014). Innovation management processes, their internal organizational elements and contextual factors: An investigation in Brazil. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management v. 33, 63-92.

Nelson, R. R., & Winter, S. G. (1977). In Search of Useful Theory of Innovation*. Research Policy 6 , pp. 36- 76.

OCDE, O. p. (2005). Manual de Oslo: Diretrizes para coleta e interpretação de dados sobre inovação, 3ª ed. FINEP.

Ošenieks, J., & Babauska, S. (2014). The relevance of innovation management as prerequisite for durable existence of small and medium enterprises. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol 110, 82-92.

Pavitt, K. (1984). Sectoral Patterns of Technical Change:Towards a taxonomy and a theory. Research Policy, 13, pp. 343-373.

Plotnikova, M., Romero, I., & Martínez-Román, J. A. (2016). Process innovation in small businesses: the self-employed as entrepreneurs. Small Bus Econ, 47, 939–954.

Romero, I., & Martínez-Román, J. A. (2012). Self-employment and Innovation. Exploring the determinants of innovative behavior in small businesses. Research Policy, 41, 178– 189.

Roper, S. (1997). Product Innovation and Small Business Growth: A Comparison of the Strategies of German, U.K. and Irish Companies. Small Business Economics 9, pp. 523–537.

Rothwell, R. (1977). The characteristics of successful innovators and technically progressive firms (with some comments on innovation research). R & D Management 7,3, pp. 191-206.

Rothwell, R. (1989). Small Firms, Innovation and Industrial Change. Small Business Economics 1, pp. 51-64.

Sá, D. L. (dezembro de 2011). Projeto ALI e a capacidade de inovações das micro e pequenas empresas (MPE) de turismo e gastronomia no Recife e Região Metropolitana. Acesso em 17 de 11 de 2017, disponível em Repositório Institucional da UFPE- Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Dissertação: http://repositorio.ufpe.br/handle/123456789/5974

Sahut, J.-M., & Peris-Ortiz, M. (2014). Small business, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Small Bus Econ, 42, pp. 663–668.

Sawhney, M., Wolcott, R. C., & Arroniz, I. (2006). The 12 different ways for companies to innovate. MIT Sloan Management Review Vol. 47, No.3, pp. 75-81.

Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The Theory of Economic Development. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Scuotto, V., Del Giudice, M., & Carayannis, E. G. (2017). The effect of social networking sites and absorptive capacity on SMES’ innovation performance. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 42 (2), 409–424.

SEBRAE, S. B. (2015). Guia para a Inovação:Instrumento para a melhoria das dimensões 4 da inovação, 2ª ed. Curitiba: SK Editora Ltda.

SEBRAE, S. B. (2015). Painel Regional de Guarabira-PB. Paraíba: SEBRAE.

Silva, E. L., & Menezes, E. M. (2001). Metodologia da Pesquisa e Elaboração de Dissertação. Florianópolis: Laboratório de Ensino à Distância da UFSC.

Simões, L. C., Oliveira, M. Â., Mendes, D. R., & Pinheiro, A. A. (2015). Radar da Inovação: Um estudo de caso das prestadoras de serviço de BrasíliaDF. Revista de Empreendedorismo e Gestão de Pequenas Empresas v. 4, n.2, 133-152.

Soto-Acosta, P., Popa, S., & Palacios-Marqués, D. (2017). Social web knowledge sharing and innovation performance in knowledge-intensive manufacturing SMEs. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 42 (2), 425–440.

Taran, Y., Boer, H., & Lindgren, P. (2015). A Business Model Innovation Typology. Decision Sciences, 46 (2), 301-331.

Tidd, J., Bessant, J. R., & Pavitt, K. (2008). Gestão da Inovação 3ª ed. Porto Alegr: Bookman.

Andersson, M., & Lööf, H. (2012). Small business innovation: firm level evidence from Sweden. Technol Transf, 37, 732–754.

Aragón-Sánchez, A., & Sánchez-Marín, G. (2005). Strategic orientation, management, characteristics and performance: a study of Spanish SMEs. Journal of Small Business Management, 43 (3), 287-308.

Audretsch, D. B. (2003). Standing on the Shoulders of Midgets: The U.S. Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). Small Business Economics 20, pp. 129–135.

Azari, M. J., Madsen, T. K., & Moen, Ø. (2017). Antecedent and outcomes of innovation-based growth strategies for exporting SMEs. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 24 (4), 733-752 .

Bachmann, D. L., & Destefani, J. H. (2008). Metodologia para estimar o grau de inovação nas MPE. Cultura do Empreendedorismo e Inovação. Curitiba, PR.

Bardin, L. (2016). Análise de Conteúdo. São Paulo: Edições 70.

Bhaskaran, S. (2006). Incremental Innovation and Business Performance: Small and Medium-Size Food Enterprises in a Concentrated Industry Environment. Journal of Small Business Management, 44 (1), pp. 64–80.

Carvalho, H. G. (2011). Gestão da Inovação. Curitiba: Aymará.

Carvalho, L. C., & Machado, D. D. (2013). Ambiente de Inovação: estudo comparativo entre três unidades de uma organização do setor metal-mecânico. Revista de Empreendedorismo e Gestão de Pequenas Empresas, v. 2, n.1, pp. 47-76.

Christensen, C. M. (1997). The innovator’s dilemma : when new technologies cause great firms to fail. Boston: Harvard Business School.

Cooper, R. S. (2003). Purpose and Performance of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. Small Business Economics, 20, pp. 137–151.

Crossan, M. M., & Apaydin, M. (2010). A Multi-Dimensional Framework of Organizational Innovation: A Systematic Review of the Literature. . Journal of Management Studies, v. 47 n. 6, pp. 1154-1191.

De Jong, J. P. (2013). The Decision to Exploit Opportunities for Innovation: A Study of High-Tech Small-Business Owners. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, v. 37, n.2, 281-301.

De Jong, J. P., & Marsili, O. (2005). The Fruit Flies of Innovation: A Taxonomy of Innovative Small Firms. Dynamics of Industry and Innovation: Organizations, Networks and Systems.

Didonet, S. R., Simmons, G., Díaz-Villavicencio, G., & Palmer, M. (2016). Market Orientation's Boundary-Spanning Role to Support Innovation in SMEs. Journal of Small Business Management, 54 (1), 216–233.

Drucker, P. (2002). Inovação e Espírito Empreendedor: prática e princípios . São Paulo: Pioneira Thompson.

FGV, P. (2016). 10 Anos do Simples Nacional. Cadernos FGV Projetos, 96.

Forsman, H. (2011). Innovation capacity and innovation development in small enterprises. A comparison between the manufacturing and service sectors. Research Policy, v 40, 739–750.

Forsman, H., & Temel, S. (2011). Innovation and business performance in small enterprises: An enterprise-level analysis. International Journal of Innovation Management, 15 (03), 641-665.

Ganter, A., & Hecker, A. (2013). Persistence of innovation: Discriminating between types of innovation and sources of state dependence. Research Policy, 42 (8), 1431-1445.

Gopalakrishnan, S., & Damanpour, F. (1997). A Review Economics, of Innovation Research in Sociology and Technology Management. Omega, International Journal Management Science Vol. 25, No. I, pp. 15-28.

Krause, J. (2016). Factors Hampering Innovation Activities - Case Study from the Czech Republic. Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, 11 (4) , 75-79.

Lakatos, E. M. (2017). Fundamentos de Metodologia Científica, 8ª ed. São Paulo: Atlas.

Lundvall, B. (2005). National Innovation Systems – Analytical concept and development tools. DRUID-CONFERENCE, Anais. Copenhagen, Dinamarca: DRUID.

Maia, A. F. (abril de 2012). Inovação em Micro e Pequenas Empresas: Uma análise do caso brasileiro. Acesso em 04 de Dezembro de 2017, disponível em Programa de Pós Graduação em Economia - Universidade Federal de Uberlândia: http://www.ppge.ie.ufu.br/node/217

McGuirk, H., Lenihan, H., & Hart, M. (2015). Measuring the impact of innovative human capital on small firms’ propensity to innovate. Research Policy, 44 (4), 965-976.

Nagano, M. S., Stefanovitz, J. P., & Vick, T. E. (2014). Innovation management processes, their internal organizational elements and contextual factors: An investigation in Brazil. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management v. 33, 63-92.

Nelson, R. R., & Winter, S. G. (1977). In Search of Useful Theory of Innovation*. Research Policy 6 , pp. 36- 76.

OCDE, O. p. (2005). Manual de Oslo: Diretrizes para coleta e interpretação de dados sobre inovação, 3ª ed. FINEP.

Ošenieks, J., & Babauska, S. (2014). The relevance of innovation management as prerequisite for durable existence of small and medium enterprises. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol 110, 82-92.

Pavitt, K. (1984). Sectoral Patterns of Technical Change:Towards a taxonomy and a theory. Research Policy, 13, pp. 343-373.

Plotnikova, M., Romero, I., & Martínez-Román, J. A. (2016). Process innovation in small businesses: the self-employed as entrepreneurs. Small Bus Econ, 47, 939–954.

Romero, I., & Martínez-Román, J. A. (2012). Self-employment and Innovation. Exploring the determinants of innovative behavior in small businesses. Research Policy, 41, 178– 189.

Roper, S. (1997). Product Innovation and Small Business Growth: A Comparison of the Strategies of German, U.K. and Irish Companies. Small Business Economics 9, pp. 523–537.

Rothwell, R. (1977). The characteristics of successful innovators and technically progressive firms (with some comments on innovation research). R & D Management 7,3, pp. 191-206.

Rothwell, R. (1989). Small Firms, Innovation and Industrial Change. Small Business Economics 1, pp. 51-64.

Sá, D. L. (dezembro de 2011). Projeto ALI e a capacidade de inovações das micro e pequenas empresas (MPE) de turismo e gastronomia no Recife e Região Metropolitana. Acesso em 17 de 11 de 2017, disponível em Repositório Institucional da UFPE- Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Dissertação: http://repositorio.ufpe.br/handle/123456789/5974

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Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The Theory of Economic Development. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

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Published

2018-04-05

How to Cite

Costa Silva, L. M., Bezerra Ribeiro, A. R., Frascaroli, B. F., & de Moraes Filho, R. A. (2018). Analysis of the Innovative Process in a Small Company: A Case Study from the Local Innovation Agents Program. REGEPE Entrepreneurship and Small Business Journal, 7(1), 162–194. https://doi.org/10.14211/regepe.v7i1.785

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Section

Research Articles