Establishing a Creative Innovation Framework for informal Micro-Enterprises

The existing innovation models assume an established innovation system and do not provide direct support on a practical level on what activities should be carried out in each basic innovation phase. Thus, this study sought to design a tailored creative innovation framework that can serve as a guide for informal micro-enterprises to engage in radical and incremental innovation with their imperfections. Through the application of sequential explanatory mixed-methods research, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 400 informal micro-enterprises in the Gauteng Province, South Africa. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, factor analysis, thematic, and constant comparison methods. The results reveal that informal micro-enterprises require guidance on how to engage in innovation activities throughout all basic innovation phases, which is from discovery to launch. Thus, there is a great deal of innovation-related support required in the informal sector. The study concludes that with proper guidance more informal micro-enterprises will engage in innovation activity and become sustainable. Sustainable informal micro-enterprises can create jobs and some of them will register to become formal businesses, thereby increasing the government’s tax base. A flourishing informal sector will aid in resolving South African and other developing countries’ economic challenges.