The importance of innovation in the development of polish business gazelles

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the level of innovativeness of modern enterprises and identify the supporting factors to implement the innovative processes. Methodology: Research using the Computer Assisted Web Interviews was conducted according to the guidelines of the research procedure of the creators of innovation audit, i.e. J. Tidd and J. Bessant. The electronic questionnaire was sent to selected 110 enterprises from the SME sector in December 2018. Findings: The innovation activities implemented by companies are highest rated the most by owners of small service firms belonging to the ICT sector. Definitely more actions are taken in terms of strategy and organization, and the least attention is paid to relationship. Limitations: The presented considerations based solely on the quantitative analysis of the part of the population of Polish business gazelles, which does not exhaust the discussed issues. The presented method is only a general outline of the current situation in each company based on the declarative indications of their owners regarding the use of innovation. Originality: Currently, the role of innovation is so significant that the economic environment considers it one of the key determinants for the development of enterprise competitiveness. The first part of the paper is devoted to the description of innovation concepts in the main interpretative areas. The second part presents the results of empirical research on the assessment of organization innovation level according to five separate areas among Polish Business Gazelles.