Research Summary: “A Research on Determining Innovation Factors for SMEs” By Ebru Beyza Bayarçelik, Gelisim University & Fulya Tase and Sinan Apak, Maltepe University (Istanbul, Turkey 2014)
Most Important Factors Affecting SME Innovation
At Issue: SMEs, by their sheer prevalence, are essential components of every sector of the economy. Therefore it is crucial that innovation by SMEs be encouraged and supported, such that SMEs may remain competitive with larger organizations. To innovate effectively, SMEs must fully embrace strategic management decisions. However, many SMEs struggle with the decision phase of pursuing innovations, and are significantly impacted by both external (market) conditions and internal factors.
Research Objective(s): The research focuses on determining the primary factors that enable SMEs to achieve strategic innovation success.
Scope: This research examines innovation by SMEs in industrialized nations worldwide.
Approach: The authors of the study conducted both primary and secondary research to obtain their conclusions. For the primary research, they surveyed the owners of 34 SMEs on the relative strengths of eleven factors as pertaining to the degree of innovation within their organizations. The researchers then employed mathematical models to further analyze the data and justify their conclusions.
Findings: Prior studies have determined management skill and industry maturity to be key factors in driving SME innovation. Other important factors cited in previous studies have been industry demand, industry-university partnerships, employees’ attitudes toward change, industry size, and personnel age.
The direct research conducted for this study concluded that management skill, technological capability, financial capacity, and firm size carry the most weight (approximately half) of the eleven independent factors considered.
Notes: The full text of this study can be accessed at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042814050812.
Researcher Profile: Allie Grace Garnett is a professional researcher and freelance writer with a background in finance and entrepreneurship. A serial entrepreneur who has established numerous businesses, Ms. Garnett previously was a founding Principal of Nexos Resource Partners (NRP), an energy project finance firm in New York. Prior to co-founding NRP, Ms. Garnett provided financial advisory and fund raising services to institutional-scale energy funds with Sustainable Development Capital. Ms. Garnett served as the Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships for the start-up Rentricity, and additionally founded a nonprofit organization (YAVA) that encourages volunteerism among college students. Ms. Garnett holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree from Northeastern University.
