Application of Innovation Management Techniques in SMEs: A Process Based Method

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are facing harsh market conditions that threat their survival, what has increased their awareness that business as usual is no longer sufficient and that their future depends on their ability to offer innovative products and services, innovate and improve their value propositions and associated business models. Changing market conditions thus force smaller firms to adapt or reinvent their business through new technologies or unique value propositions. At the same time, a major liability of SMEs is that small firms lack the required resources, knowledge and technical capabilities to develop structured innovation processes based on innovation management techniques and tools (IMTs), and therefore one main challenge refers to SMEs capability to innovate. A process based method ch for innovation based on IMTs is presented in this paper. Precisely, this paper explains the processes, tools and outcomes of the application of this process based innovation method in several small SMEs, as long as the lessons learned and proposals for SMEs approaching this challenge.