TY - JOUR
T1 - Levels of innovation within SMEs in peripheral regions
T2 - The role of business improvement initiatives
AU - Harris, Richard
AU - McAdam, Rodney
AU - McCausland, Irene
AU - Reid, Renee
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2013 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2013/2
Y1 - 2013/2
N2 - Purpose: The aim of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of business improvement methods (BIM/TQM) in contributing to innovation implementation in SMEs within peripheral regions. Design/methodology/approach: A survey with responses from 606 SMEs in the North West European peripheral regions was administered. The survey explores the role of a range of business improvement methods (BIM/TQM) as an antecedent or stimulant in helping to achieve three levels of effective innovation implementation: introducing new products/services; engaging in innovation that resulted in major product/service innovation (radical), and engaging in innovation activities that did not result in major product innovation (incremental), and non-innovative. Findings: The findings show that BIM/TQM was likely to stimulate and encourage the development of incremental levels of innovation in the SMEs where there was an emphasis on the people, or organic aspects of BIM/TQM applied, rather than more mechanistic BIM/TQM approaches. However, there was a lack of a clear link between BIM/TQM and radical innovation where newness in products/services and markets was required. Originality/value: There is a paucity of studies that probe the effectiveness of applying business improvement methods in stimulating innovation implementation, especially in peripheral regions and involving multiple levels of innovation.
AB - Purpose: The aim of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of business improvement methods (BIM/TQM) in contributing to innovation implementation in SMEs within peripheral regions. Design/methodology/approach: A survey with responses from 606 SMEs in the North West European peripheral regions was administered. The survey explores the role of a range of business improvement methods (BIM/TQM) as an antecedent or stimulant in helping to achieve three levels of effective innovation implementation: introducing new products/services; engaging in innovation that resulted in major product/service innovation (radical), and engaging in innovation activities that did not result in major product innovation (incremental), and non-innovative. Findings: The findings show that BIM/TQM was likely to stimulate and encourage the development of incremental levels of innovation in the SMEs where there was an emphasis on the people, or organic aspects of BIM/TQM applied, rather than more mechanistic BIM/TQM approaches. However, there was a lack of a clear link between BIM/TQM and radical innovation where newness in products/services and markets was required. Originality/value: There is a paucity of studies that probe the effectiveness of applying business improvement methods in stimulating innovation implementation, especially in peripheral regions and involving multiple levels of innovation.
KW - Business improvement
KW - Innovation
KW - Peripheral regions
KW - Small to medium-sized enterprises
KW - Survey
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84874131991&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/14626001311298439
DO - 10.1108/14626001311298439
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84874131991
VL - 20
SP - 102
EP - 124
JO - Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development
JF - Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development
SN - 1462-6004
IS - 1
ER -