Qualitative approach about innovation determinants in an emerging economy

Abstract

Manufacturing companies strive to be innovative and competitive. These companies are very important in an emerging economy due to their contribution to a country's gross domestic product and the generation of jobs. Therefore, the objective of this article is to identify the internal and external factors that improve the innovation capacity of Peruvian manufacturing companies and, in turn, favor their competitiveness. A qualitative approach was applied based on the Glaser six-C model , which is part of the grounded theory; for this, the managers of the Peruvian manufacturing companies were interviewed. From the analysis and processing of this data with Atlas ti® qualitative analysis software (QDA), it was found that suppliers and customers provide valuable information to innovate; additionally, the application of the design and the acquisition of machinery favor the innovations of these companies. To that extent, this qualitative study contributes to identify those factors that help Peruvian manufacturing companies improve their innovation capacity. Thus, manufacturing companies' managers must identify those factors that favor the implementation of innovations to make their companies more competitive.