Strategic Innovation Management of Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Companies in Rwanda

Abstract

This chapter has two objectives: first, to investigate the basic strategies for innovation in Rwandan SMEs, and second, to create awareness about the necessity of strategic innovations in the daily management of SMEs in the country. The chapter starts by defining the concept of strategic innovation and discusses some tactics used by SMEs for the successful implementation of strategic innovations, that is, how they cultivate a style of organizational behavior that is comfortable with new ideas, changes, risks, and even failures. A purposeful technique is used to select a sample of 40 people in seven manufacturing SMEs for interviews to see how strategic innovations were implemented through transmission of SMEs' vision and strategic targets to employees, tolerance of risks, mistakes and failures, degree of decision making by operational staff members, and attention to the future through transparency and truth. This chapter also gives a set of practical implications and suggestions on how to increase the culture of innovation.