Innovation without R&D: The SME secrets of competitive advantage

For decades both policy makers and academic innovation studies have focused on the behaviours of large scale corporates and high technology (HT) firms as exemplars of best practice of innovation creativity and commercialisation. Less well researched, but perhaps of more importance to the EU economy, are the behaviours of low- and medium- technology (LMT) firms, who represent a significant portion of all economic activity and are largely small to medium sized enterprises (SME) in scale. The prevailing perspective of innovation is one that prioritizes scientific and technological R&D as the determinant of innovation capability, yet this stance ignores the consistent innovativeness of those LMT firms, who are not active in traditional R&D (Hirsch-Kreinsen and Jacobson, 2008; Santamaria et al, 2009; Som and Kirner, 2015). Such LMT SMEs are likely to develop alternative innovation routines and capabilities to support growth given their non-reliance on traditional R&D, and understanding their innovation secrets is important for effective management and sustainability of the sector, especially in light of ever increasing globalization.

In this seminar, Dr. Dooley will discuss research undertaken over the past two years of the innovation processes and routines of more than thirty indigenous SME cases across the R&D intensity spectrum. The research highlights LMT SME differences in terms of the types of innovation engaged in and the strategies pursued to nurture competitive advantage. From a distillation of best practice of the cases studied, a number of ‘building blocks’ are identified to assist SME management enhance innovative capability and nurture growth of Ireland’s indigenous SME sector.

Bio

The speaker for this event is Dr. Lawrence Dooley of Cork University Business School, UCC and co-author of the book “Applying Innovation.” Lawrence will visit NUI Galway on Wednesday 26th of April as part of the InterTradeIreland All-Island Innovation programme to deliver a research seminar for local industry entitled “Innovation without R&D: The SME secrets of competitive advantage.”