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A Biological Adaptability Approach to Innovation for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): Strategic Insights from and for Health-Promoting Agri-Food Innovation

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  • Christopher Coghlan

    (McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics, McGill University, 3430 McTavish St., Montréal, QC H3A 1X9, Canada)

  • JoAnne Labrecque

    (Department of Marketing, HEC Montréal, 3000 chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3T 2A7, Canada)

  • Yu Ma

    (McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics, McGill University, 3430 McTavish St., Montréal, QC H3A 1X9, Canada)

  • Laurette Dubé

    (McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics, McGill University, 3430 McTavish St., Montréal, QC H3A 1X9, Canada)

Abstract

Adaptability has emerged in management/entrepreneurship literature as a business strategy to innovate, perform, and respond in a flexible manner to ever-changing contexts. Contemporary culture blurs boundaries between physical, biological, and digital domains, accelerating what entrepreneurship in sectors such as agri-food contributes to societal-scale solutions to problems at the convergence of social and commercial activities. In this study, we build upon the adaptability of biological systems to propose an approach to innovation, anchored in a tight, dynamic alignment between the strategic DNA of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the contexts in which they evolve. Our model employs interviews and supporting archival research on the health-promoting innovation practices of 37 SMEs in the agri-food sector. A two-year, single firm analysis illustrates its relevance and operational feasibility. Evidence suggests that the strategic DNA of SMEs, seen through the entrepreneurs’ identity, informs behavior at various stages of the innovation process and the enterprise’s evolution. Shifting identity prioritization is a reality, and interaction between entrepreneurial organizations and the environment is best understood as an interaction between the DNA of the entrepreneur/enterprise and the environment. This is valuable and will help agri-food and other SMEs to improve their ability to make the internal and external strategic adjustments required in a rapidly changing landscapes to create viable health-promoting food products.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher Coghlan & JoAnne Labrecque & Yu Ma & Laurette Dubé, 2020. "A Biological Adaptability Approach to Innovation for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): Strategic Insights from and for Health-Promoting Agri-Food Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-21, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:10:p:4227-:d:361203
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anja Gaudig & Bernd Ebersberger & Andreas Kuckertz, 2021. "Sustainability-Oriented Macro Trends and Innovation Types—Exploring Different Organization Types Tackling the Global Sustainability Megatrend," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-19, October.
    2. Hernita Hernita & Batara Surya & Iwan Perwira & Herminawaty Abubakar & Muhammad Idris, 2021. "Economic Business Sustainability and Strengthening Human Resource Capacity Based on Increasing the Productivity of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Makassar City, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-36, March.

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