Innovation and internationalization are quite often regarded as important strategies for companies to grow and succeed in the fast pacing market battlefield. Literature has deeply investigated these subjects, separately and together. However, papers on the relations of innovation capability and internationalization degree are still scarce and therefore, under researched. Moreover, although studies on the relations of the innovation capability of a company and business performance pop up quite frequently, they still lack conclusiveness. In order to deepen the understanding on those relations and unveil practical recommendations for managers, this study aimed at describing (1) the relations between innovation capability and internationalization degree and (2) the relations between innovation capability and business performance of companies operating in Brazil. Literature review encompasses concepts on innovation drivers, internationalization, and business performance as well as the relations of (1) innovation and internationalization, and (2) innovation and business performance. As innovation capability is not directly measureable, the conceptual model included a proposal of a construct of innovation capability as a weighted contribution of a set of innovation drivers. The conceptual model provided the foundations for the questionnaire and therefore...

Nas últimas décadas é notória a crescente importância que vem sendo dada ao desenvolvimento de inovações por parte de empresas, principalmente nos setores industriais. Entretanto, diferentemente de situações em que a inovação ocorre de maneira fortuita e eventual, desafios especiais se reservam às organizações que se engajam na geração de inovações de forma sistemática. Nesta linha, um conjunto de iniciativas empresariais parece apontar na direção de um aglutinamento de atividades relacionadas à gestão da inovação em grupos dedicados: Diretoria de Inovação Tecnológica, Comitê de Inovação, Núcleo de Gestão da Inovação, Gerência de Planejamento Estratégico e Inovação, etc. são alguns dos nomes de instâncias da organização que tem assumido a responsabilidade se debruçar sobre esta questão. Tomando como conceito de função organizacional a existência de um grupo identificável e com uma missão específica na organização, alguns estudos tem afirmado que a inovação surge como uma nova função organizacional das empresas. Neste contexto nasce a questão central deste trabalho: o que caracteriza a função organizacional inovação, considerando as iniciativas de diferentes empresas industriais de grande porte engajadas na sistematização da inovação no Brasil? Partindo da contextualização geral e importância da temática da inovação nos sistemas produtivos...

Os desafios do desenvolvimento sustentável apresentam inúmeras oportunidades e ameaças às organizações. Nesta realidade, inovar passa a ser ainda mais imprescindível para a competitividade organizacional, mas não a inovação tradicional, um novo tipo que integre as questões da sustentabilidade - a inovação sustentável. Compreender as competências relacionadas à sua gestão e sua forma de desenvolvimento é fundamental para o sucesso. Apesar dessa importância, verificou-se a inexistência de pesquisas com foco sistêmico considerando a evolução de todas as competências da gestão da inovação bem como o seu relacionamento com a evolução das gestões da inovação e da sustentabilidade. Neste contexto, esta pesquisa descritiva exploratória propõe um modelo de estágios evolutivos em gestão da inovação sustentável e suas características e competências específicas. Para tanto, realizou-se três estudos de caso longitudinal em empresas industriais multinacionais líderes em sustentabilidade e inovação, analisando-se a situação atual e evolução individual dos seus sistemas de gestão da inovação, da sustentabilidade e da inovação sustentável. Como resultado, propõe-se um padrão evolutivo da gestão da inovação sustentável de três estágios - reativo...

Innovation can be considered to be a complex phenomenon including technical and non-technical aspects. A remarkable increase in the interdisciplinary attention devoted to innovation has been noticed over the recent decades but the formal technological and economic aspects of innovation have received much more attention and have been taken into account in a far greater number of analyses, despite the great importance of the non-technological dimension of innovation. Non-technological innovation is an important element of firms’ innovation activities that both supplement and complement technological innovation. Some scholars have point out that innovation in firms is not just about developing and applying new technologies but also to adopt and re-organize business routines, internal organization, external relations and marketing. And other authors maintain that the innovation management literature stresses the importance of integrating product, process and organizational innovation for successfully transferring new ideas and new business opportunities into market success and emphasizing the crucial role of linking R&D, technological innovation and new marketing approaches. This paper attempts a review on the important subject of non-technological innovation. The main ideas on the non-technological dimension of innovation research will be highlighted...

Purpose – The main objective of our work is to shed light on the confusion of terminologies related to open innovation through the development of an open innovation taxonomy. By analyzing published case studies using numerical taxonomy methods, we propose a taxonomic classification of open innovation. Design/methodology/approach – We first review earlier work on firm collaboration and concepts related to open innovation in order to understand the main motivations and conditions behind open innovation- like strategies. We then proceed to collect and systematically analyze twenty published case studies, and using numerical taxonomy methods we produce a taxonomic classification of open innovation. As a first approach to taxonomy on open innovation strategies, the UPGMA methodology used seems very promising. The taxonomy of open innovation developed here can also be used as a decision making tool through the comparison of open innovation strategies inherent in the taxonomy. Findings – Through the numerical taxonomy analysis we have been able to objectively create groups of similar cases, and strategies therein. This paper is able to draw some interesting conclusions by identifying two general strategies of collaboration- a free revealing ―democratic‖ strategy and a formal collaboration strategy. The first involves a proliferation of partners whose technical and creative skills are specific to the industry and the source of knowledge...

Purpose – The main objective of our work is to shed light on the confusion of terminologies related to open innovation through the development of an open innovation taxonomy. By analyzing published case studies using numerical taxonomy methods, we propose a taxonomic classification of open innovation. Design/methodology/approach – We first review earlier work on firm collaboration and concepts related to open innovation in order to understand the main motivations and conditions behind open innovation- like strategies. We then proceed to collect and systematically analyze twenty published case studies, and using numerical taxonomy methods we produce a taxonomic classification of open innovation. As a first approach to taxonomy on open innovation strategies, the UPGMA methodology used seems very promising. The taxonomy of open innovation developed here can also be used as a decision making tool through the comparison of open innovation strategies inherent in the taxonomy. Findings – Through the numerical taxonomy analysis we have been able to objectively create groups of similar cases, and strategies therein. This paper is able to draw some interesting conclusions by identifying two general strategies of collaboration- a free revealing ―democratic‖ strategy and a formal collaboration strategy. The first involves a proliferation of partners whose technical and creative skills are specific to the industry and the source of knowledge...

Since 1987, the European Association for Creativity & Innovation (EACI) (http://www.eaci.net) co-organizes the bi-annual European Conference on Creativity & Innovation (ECCI), together with a local creativity and innovation association in Europe, with the intention of providing a platform for practitioners and academics in the field of creativity and innovation. In 2011, the Portuguese Creativity and Innovation Association – APGICO (http://www.apgico.pt) organized the ECCI XII, with the purpose of providing an environment where participants learn with each other ways of developing collaborative activities which promote innovation. The event takes place in the University of the Algarve in Faro, on 14 – 17 September 2011.

peer-reviewed; A familiar theme in innovation studies revolves around the issue of exploitive and explorative behaviour. Exploitive behaviour is using existing capabilities to improve present returns; incrementally improving current innovations. In contrast explorative behaviour requires that firms explore and develop new capabilities, that they seek radical innovation. Overall the performance of Ireland, with regard to radical innovation, compares poorly with the EU27 average. Patent applications are relatively low and company turnover attributed to ‘new to firm’ or ‘new to market’ is below the EU27 average. Small to medium enterprises are collaborating less and introducing fewer new products and their general innovation involvement lags behind that of larger companies. These statistics make the study of radical innovation in Ireland interesting and appropriate. Using an established model of the radical innovation process developed by Tidd and Bessant (2009) as a starting point, this thesis explores the fuzzy front end (FFE) of the radical innovation development process by examining search and selection practices in innovating companies. The overarching aim of the thesis is to establish the underlying factors characterising the FFE of the radical innovation process...

Innovation is key to technology adoption and creation, and to explaining the vast differences in productivity across and within countries. Despite the central role of the entrepreneur in the innovation process, data limitations have restricted standard analysis of the determinants of innovation to consideration of the role of firm characteristics. The authors develop a model of innovation that incorporates the role of both owner and firm characteristics, and use this to determine how product, process, marketing, and organizational innovations should vary with firm size and competition. They then use a new, large, representative survey from Sri Lanka to test this model and to examine whether and how owner characteristics matter for innovation. The survey also allows analysis of the incidence of innovation in micro and small firms, which have traditionally been overlooked in the study of innovation, despite these firms comprising the majority of firms in developing countries. The analysis finds that more than one-quarter of the microenterprises are engaging in innovation...

Agricultural development depends to a great extent on how successfully knowledge is generated and applied. Investments in knowledge, especially in the form of science and technology, have been featured prominently and consistently in most strategies to promote sustainable and equitable agricultural development at the national level. Although many of these investments have been quite successful, the context for agriculture is changing rapidly-sometimes radically-and the process of knowledge generation and use has been transformed as well. It is increasingly recognized that traditional agricultural science and technology investments such as research and extension, although necessary, are not sufficient to enable agricultural innovation. As this paper will demonstrate, new perspectives on the nature of the agricultural innovation process can yield practical approaches to agricultural development that may be more suited to this changing context. This paper includes the following headings: (i) reasons for assessing the value of the innovation systems perspective; (ii) the innovation systems concept - a framework for analysis; (iii) research methodology and case study descriptions; (iv) innovation system capacity - a comparative analysis of case studies; (v) reviewing the innovation systems concept in light of the case studies; (vi) toward a framework for diagnosis and intervention; and (vii) conclusions.

Broad in conceptual utility and cross-disciplinary in nature, innovation has drawn a wide interest among practitioners and academia alike. This literary interest has produced divergent conceptualisation of innovation, resulting in lack of synthesis and joint common language. The problem manifests into fragmented and non-generlisable literary contributions and consequently diluted usefulness of the growing literature. This paper therefore presents a literature review on various dimensions of the concept of innovation to synthesise our understanding of innovation. The aim is to build a consolidated view of the concept and structure the emerging literature on innovation. A case study of the literature on innovation led to identification of five dimensions of innovation and they are: innovation as something new, innovation as a conduit to change, innovation as a process, innovation as a value driver, and innovation as invention. The findings of case study of literature are discussed and then incorporated to develop a model of dimensions of innovation, as well as a sythesised definition of the concept of innovation. The paper significantly contributes towards building theoretical segregation of the concept of innovation along various dimensions...

Because of the potential impact of the patent system on innovation diffusion, particularly on continuous and/or incremental innovation, patent policy should be of central importance to the review of the national innovation system. Substantial empirical evidence shows that most industrial innovations are not induced by the patent system. Even in very large markets, such as the USA, only a minority of patents are likely to be induced by the patent system. To the extent that patents do induce innovations, it is the inventiveness of the innovation which gives rise to possible social benefits (externalities, mainly in the form of knowledge spillovers) which may offset the costs of a patent system and thus give rise to a net economic benefit. On the basis of this evidence about the inducement effect of the patent system, and evidence on the current very low inventiveness standard for patent grant, policy proposals are put forward to re-introduce inventiveness into the patent system, thus making it potentially welfare-enhancing. These proposed changes would also have a major impact in ameliorating the negative impact of the patent system on continuous/incremental innovation.

While innovation is a source of competitiveness, it may expose plants to survival risks. Using a rich set of plant-product data for Chilean manufacturing plants during the period 1996-2006 and discrete-time hazard models controlling for unobserved plant heterogeneity, this paper shows that innovating plants have higher survival odds. However, risk plays an important role for the innovation-survival link: only innovators that retain diversified sources of revenues survive longer. Single-product innovators are at greater risk of exiting. In addition, only innovators facing lower market risk, measured by fewer innovative competitors, low-pricing strategies, or lower sales volatility in the new products' markets, see their odds of survival increase significantly. Technical risk, measured by the proximity of product innovations to the plants' past expertise, the degree of sophistication of new products, or their novelty to the Chilean market, does not play a substantial role in the innovation-survival link. Engaging in risky innovation is not an irrational decision...

This report provides recommendations for transforming Tartarstan's traditional industrial economy into a globally competitive, knowledge based economy, and for involving Russia in the development process. A broad range of innovation policies are best handled at the regional level and are difficult to achieve through an approach solely based on national innovation. Regional innovation systems are constantly evolving and government must be flexible enough to support learning and interactions between innovation stakeholders and the ability of firms to find their competitive advantages in global markets.

A firm's absorptive capacity, human capital and linkages with knowledge institutions have been shown to increase the firm's probability of innovating in OECD economies. Despite its importance for national- and firm-level competitiveness, few papers examine the impact of the same variables for firms innovation in Latin America. This paper investigates the link between firm innovation and its absorption capacity as proxied by the presence of a R&D department, the firm's human capital, and its interaction with research centers and universities. We analyze the case of Chilean and Colombian manufacturing firms using data from innovation surveys. A probit regression model is applied to identify the determinants of innovation activity. We find that collaboration with university and research institutions is associated with an increase in the probability of introducing a new product in Chilean and Colombian firms of 29 and 44 percent, respectively, and it can increase up to 58 percent in the case of Colombian firms interacting with research centers. Moreover...

Innovation is often touted as a key component in unleashing private sector growth and the dynamism necessary for solving the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region's employment challenges. The region's innovation strategy identifies the major development challenges including youth unemployment, low diversification of exports, low share of medium and high tech exports, and the need to move from privilege to competition. The MENA region does not perform well on innovation and education indicators, and scores below the world average on the knowledge index (2011). Innovation policies should first focus on improving the business environment, innovation finance, and skills. While developing the innovation policy framework, it will be important to leverage international linkages and to focus on promoting inclusive innovation. MENA's innovation policy agenda will be country specific and difficult to operationalize.

This book is the result of a joint forum on 'innovation for development' held by the World Bank and the China-based Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Center (AFDC) in Shanghai in September 2006. The book examines the relationship between innovation, competitiveness, and economic growth; the role of innovation in financial sector development; and specific government policies for innovation in China. Development is one of the major themes of today's world. In the context of global economic development practices, the development patterns of various countries fall primarily into three categories. The first is the resources-based pattern, which is supported by natural resource endowments. The second category is the dependency pattern, which is determined by a country's adjacency to economically developed countries with which it has close economic ties. The third is the innovation-based pattern, which is driven by innovation. Measured by levels of economic development, the current top 20 most developed countries in the world have opted primarily for an innovation-driven pattern. In addition...

World Bank Group management welcomes Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) review of innovation and entrepreneurship. The global financial crisis required developing economies to actively seek new sources of economic growth. Natural resource-intensive economies are pursuing new ways to diversify their productive capacity to build resilience to commodity cycles. Middle-income countries (MICs) are looking for ways to escape the middle-income trap. A number of developmental challenges, from climate adaptation to food security and health, require new, efficient technological solutions adapted to developing countries' needs. In such context, innovation and entrepreneurship are increasingly seen as essential ingredients for economic and social prosperity. The report notes there are limited mechanisms in place to share learning about innovation and entrepreneurship and few formal efforts to improve coordination. However, important initiatives are already under way to foster learning, cross fertilization, and codification of knowledge to support innovation policy. The innovation...

This investigation proposes to explore the existing link between a strategic conception of philanthropy and innovation. Indeed, the nature of the research question relies on an unexplored field in the CSR and Innovation management academic literature. It starts with the interest to know which the benefits are for a firm encouraged to invest strategically in philanthropy. In this regard, the analysis contributes in fitting this gap by following different objectives in an exploratory perspective. Throughout the research it will be analyzed the concept and the current and past contributions on the different branches of innovation (product innovation, managerial innovation, technological innovation), to accentuate the relation between an accurate strategic approach to philanthropy and the impact on the organizational value. Indeed, analyzing philanthropic innovation may provide insights about business opportunities and notions related to social investments and profit. That aspect includes the link between those strategic decisions that a firm can use to maximize those investments as it was part of their core business. It also proves the existing link between CSR and innovation, and the possibilities that the enterprises have towards this subject.; Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier Business School; As a specific component of Corporate Social Responsibility...

A inovação em empresas de serviços é um assunto importante não somente para os empresários como também para os funcionários. Apesar de sua relevância econômica, a indústria de serviços tem recebido relativamente pouca atenção nas pesquisas de inovação. As organizações prestadoras de serviços competem em ambientes que se modificam rapidamente, enfrentando pressões crescentes tanto de competidores conhecidos quanto de concorrentes não tradicionais. A inovação é a principal forma que essas organizações têm para competir, especialmente aquelas que enfrentam a desregulamentação. A inovação é também um instrumento na construção e desenvolvimento da imagem das empresas que lidam com intangíveis. Além disso, o grau de exigência dos consumidores de serviços das empresas de entretenimento está cada vez maior e, com o aumento da concorrência a partir da entrada de novas operadoras de distribuição de conteúdo, o telespectador passou a ter maiores opções de alternativas de mídias audiovisuais. A própria conscientização do consumidor faz com que as empresas tenham a preocupação de fornecer produtos cada vez com mais qualidade. A criatividade e a inovação passam a ser fatores diferenciais para a sobrevivência de uma empresa de entretenimento. Quando se define inovação em serviços de entretenimento...