Narrow Results

Despite the many attempts of researchers to integrate the innovation literature, it continues to be fragmented and its results not cumulative. After a thorough review of the literature, this article proposes an integrative framework that reconciles the theories of innovation by having the types of innovation on one dimension and the degrees of innovation on the other dimension to reduce the confusion in the field and further the development of a workable theory of innovation management. The many factors that influence innovation are then identified and categorized along a four-by-four framework to lead to a comprehensive classification that will reduce the ambiguity and inconsistency in the innovation literature. The implications of this framework for future research on innovation as a profitable product or service are addressed.

This paper examines the role of several learning mechanisms for innovation performance, particularly their relevance for different types of innovation. Although the innovation drivers have been extensively discussed in the literature, more evidence is needed to verify that specific innovation outputs rely on specific knowledge sources. Based on the European Innobarometer Survey 2009, the empirical analysis reveals different profiles among innovating firms. Non-technological innovators, in particular firms highly intensive in organizational innovation, show a high propensity to perform knowledge sharing practices, to introduce knowledge management systems and to apply alternative mechanisms to promote creative ideas. The findings also prove a strong connection between product and process innovation, R&D activities and cooperation with scientific partners. The analysis concludes that firms with highest probabilities of engagement in learning mechanisms show the highest innovative performance. Moreover, the most innovative firms are characterized by the combination of different learning initiatives.

This paper highlights the relevance of innovation in small firms based on university business incubators in Portugal. Ever since Schumpeter indicated innovation to be the main economic driver of economic development and a critical factor in the development and performance of companies, a number of authors have discussed this phenomenon but there is still no consensus on how it operates. Through statistical analysis, the study focuses on a sample of 243 Portuguese companies based on incubators linked to or promoted by universities. It was concluded that product innovation is most significant in an incubation environment, and also that the origin of businesses and the development of R&D activities determine the type of innovation generated. However, most of the companies surveyed are not engaged in R&D activities. We propose some policy measures and lessons for management.

The aim of this study is to analyse how firms combining the use of all types of innovation during a certain period differ from other firms. Zhang (2022) argues that side-by-side innovation practices are understudied in the innovation literature. The paper is based on the OECD typology of innovation (product, process, marketing and organisational). This study offers a new and timely perspective on the innovation literature by examining firms’ side-by-side innovation practices, which are understudied in the innovation literature. The paper is based on data from 387 Finnish SMEs and analyses the factors related to the innovativeness of SMEs. The research provides comprehensive information on how different factors contribute to the emergence of SME innovation practices and create competitive combinations of their resources in the form of side-by-side implementation of different types of innovation.