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Expectations and Needs of Estonian Health Sector SMEs from Living Labs in an International Context

Author

Listed:
  • Katri-Liis Lepik

    (School of Governance, Law and Society, Tallinn University, Tallinn 10120, Estonia)

  • Merle Krigul

    (School of Governance, Law and Society, Tallinn University, Tallinn 10120, Estonia)

Abstract

Living labs bring experimentation out of otherwise closed R&D departments to real-life environments with the participation of users and stakeholders. Living labs have been established in all the Baltic Sea countries. They operate in many sectors, but the way services are structured varies widely. This study is focusing on the limited options of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Baltic Sea states to test and validate their products and services both in local as well as international contexts, and resulting limited access to foreign markets. This study comprises a qualitative content analysis of interviews with SMEs to identify the internationalization potential of living labs. In particular, the authors have analyzed the needs, expectations and obstacles of SMEs in the healthcare sector in Estonia. The authors found that testing and validation activities in living labs would be beneficial mostly for SMEs ready for entering international markets. Other services offered by living labs could be of interest to SMEs considering entering new international markets but have not achieved validation.

Suggested Citation

  • Katri-Liis Lepik & Merle Krigul, 2021. "Expectations and Needs of Estonian Health Sector SMEs from Living Labs in an International Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-13, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:5:p:2887-:d:512312
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kelly Bronson & Rachana Devkota & Vivian Nguyen, 2021. "Moving toward Generalizability? A Scoping Review on Measuring the Impact of Living Labs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, January.
    2. Ramaswamy, Venkat & Ozcan, Kerimcan, 2018. "What is co-creation? An interactional creation framework and its implications for value creation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 196-205.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dura Codruta Cornelia & Ghicajanu Mihaela, 2025. "Overcoming Barriers To Sme Internationalization And Globalization: Insights From A Systematic Literature Review," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 5, pages 164-175, October.

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