Innovation among SMEs in Finland: The impact of stakeholder engagement and firm-level characteristics

PURPOSE: The aim of the paper is to analyse the importance of both internal capabilities (resources) and external information sources in implementing product, process, marketing and organizational innovations aiming to maximize firm competitive advantage and create value for stakeholders. Furthermor...

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Autores principales:	Hannu Littunen, Timo Tohmo, Esa Storhammar
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nowy Sacz Business School National-Louis University 2021
Materias:	smes innovation internal capabilities external information sources stakeholders industry sector firm size Management. Industrial management HD28-70 Business HF5001-6182
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/d4380181207a423a9f087fa21b4a6522
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:d4380181207a423a9f087fa21b4a65222021-11-18T09:46:06ZInnovation among SMEs in Finland: The impact of stakeholder engagement and firm-level characteristics2299-732610.7341/20211746https://doaj.org/article/d4380181207a423a9f087fa21b4a65222021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://jemi.edu.pl/uploadedFiles/file/all-issues/vol17/issue4/JEMI_Vol17_Issue4_2021_Article6.pdfhttps://doaj.org/toc/2299-7326PURPOSE: The aim of the paper is to analyse the importance of both internal capabilities (resources) and external information sources in implementing product, process, marketing and organizational innovations aiming to maximize firm competitive advantage and create value for stakeholders. Furthermore, in particular, we examine the role of public organizations, business networks, firm size, and the industry sector, in the emergence of different types of product, process, marketing, and organizational innovations. The research was based on the typology of innovation (product, process, marketing, and organizational) adopted by the OECD. METHODOLOGY: The paper is based on data from 389 SMEs located in Finland and describes the development of a model for testing the factors that increase the innovativeness of SMEs. The logistic regression model is used as a methodology. Findings: The results show that the creation of novel products, processes and marketing innovation is connected to various external sources of information, such as fairs, the media and the internet. Moreover, the relationship between internal capabilities such as the firm’s know-how increases the marketing and organizational innovativeness of SMEs. Our results demonstrated that the creation of product innovation is positively connected to manufacturing. Furthermore, we find that the creation of novel processes and organizational innovation is related to firm size, such that firms with fewer than 20 employees (smallest firms) were concentrated among non-innovators and companies with more than 20 employees were concentrated among innovators. IMPLICATIONS FOR THEORY AND PRACTICE: The contribution of our study is to analyse to what extent various types of innovation rely on specific information sources. This study also provides suggestions for practice and policymakers. Contrary to expectations regarding our findings, public support organizations were not statistically significant in any innovation model. Therefore, public support organizations should develop better mechanisms to find SMEs with strong motivations to develop new products and market opportunities. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: This paper provides a new and topical viewpoint for the literature by examining the possible factors explaining the increase in SMEs’ likelihood of implementing product, process, marketing, and organizational innovations. Our study provides comprehensive information on how different stakeholders contribute to the emergence of SME innovation.Hannu LittunenTimo TohmoEsa StorhammarNowy Sacz Business School National-Louis Universityarticlesmesinnovationinternal capabilitiesexternal information sourcesstakeholdersindustry sectorfirm sizeManagement. Industrial managementHD28-70BusinessHF5001-6182ENJournal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Vol 17, Iss 4, Pp 157-196 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	smes innovation internal capabilities external information sources stakeholders industry sector firm size Management. Industrial management HD28-70 Business HF5001-6182
spellingShingle	smes innovation internal capabilities external information sources stakeholders industry sector firm size Management. Industrial management HD28-70 Business HF5001-6182 Hannu Littunen Timo Tohmo Esa Storhammar Innovation among SMEs in Finland: The impact of stakeholder engagement and firm-level characteristics
description	PURPOSE: The aim of the paper is to analyse the importance of both internal capabilities (resources) and external information sources in implementing product, process, marketing and organizational innovations aiming to maximize firm competitive advantage and create value for stakeholders. Furthermore, in particular, we examine the role of public organizations, business networks, firm size, and the industry sector, in the emergence of different types of product, process, marketing, and organizational innovations. The research was based on the typology of innovation (product, process, marketing, and organizational) adopted by the OECD. METHODOLOGY: The paper is based on data from 389 SMEs located in Finland and describes the development of a model for testing the factors that increase the innovativeness of SMEs. The logistic regression model is used as a methodology. Findings: The results show that the creation of novel products, processes and marketing innovation is connected to various external sources of information, such as fairs, the media and the internet. Moreover, the relationship between internal capabilities such as the firm’s know-how increases the marketing and organizational innovativeness of SMEs. Our results demonstrated that the creation of product innovation is positively connected to manufacturing. Furthermore, we find that the creation of novel processes and organizational innovation is related to firm size, such that firms with fewer than 20 employees (smallest firms) were concentrated among non-innovators and companies with more than 20 employees were concentrated among innovators. IMPLICATIONS FOR THEORY AND PRACTICE: The contribution of our study is to analyse to what extent various types of innovation rely on specific information sources. This study also provides suggestions for practice and policymakers. Contrary to expectations regarding our findings, public support organizations were not statistically significant in any innovation model. Therefore, public support organizations should develop better mechanisms to find SMEs with strong motivations to develop new products and market opportunities. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: This paper provides a new and topical viewpoint for the literature by examining the possible factors explaining the increase in SMEs’ likelihood of implementing product, process, marketing, and organizational innovations. Our study provides comprehensive information on how different stakeholders contribute to the emergence of SME innovation.
format	article
author	Hannu Littunen Timo Tohmo Esa Storhammar
author_facet	Hannu Littunen Timo Tohmo Esa Storhammar
author_sort	Hannu Littunen
title	Innovation among SMEs in Finland: The impact of stakeholder engagement and firm-level characteristics
title_short	Innovation among SMEs in Finland: The impact of stakeholder engagement and firm-level characteristics
title_full	Innovation among SMEs in Finland: The impact of stakeholder engagement and firm-level characteristics
title_fullStr	Innovation among SMEs in Finland: The impact of stakeholder engagement and firm-level characteristics
title_full_unstemmed	Innovation among SMEs in Finland: The impact of stakeholder engagement and firm-level characteristics
title_sort	innovation among smes in finland: the impact of stakeholder engagement and firm-level characteristics
publisher	Nowy Sacz Business School National-Louis University
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/d4380181207a423a9f087fa21b4a6522
work_keys_str_mv	AT hannulittunen innovationamongsmesinfinlandtheimpactofstakeholderengagementandfirmlevelcharacteristics AT timotohmo innovationamongsmesinfinlandtheimpactofstakeholderengagementandfirmlevelcharacteristics AT esastorhammar innovationamongsmesinfinlandtheimpactofstakeholderengagementandfirmlevelcharacteristics
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Innovation among SMEs in Finland: The impact of stakeholder engagement and firm-level characteristics

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