IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v47y2016i4d10.1007_s11187-016-9743-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Process innovation in small businesses: the self-employed as entrepreneurs

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Plotnikova

    (Aberystwyth University)

  • Isidoro Romero

    (Universidad de Sevilla)

  • Juan A. Martínez-Román

    (Universidad de Sevilla)

Abstract

Innovation is one of the key attributes that sets the entrepreneurs apart from the rest of self-employed people. This paper attempts to distinguish between these two categories by means of exploring the determinants of process innovation in small businesses using a survey of self-employed workers in Andalusia, Spain. The theoretical framework adopted distinguishes between three types of factors affecting the innovative activities: (1) personal characteristics of the self-employed, (2) business characteristics and (3) the characteristics of the external environment. A Heckman-type model of the extent of process innovation that accounts for sample selection bias is estimated.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Plotnikova & Isidoro Romero & Juan A. Martínez-Román, 2016. "Process innovation in small businesses: the self-employed as entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 939-954, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:47:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s11187-016-9743-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-016-9743-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11187-016-9743-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-016-9743-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fariborz Damanpour & Shanthi Gopalakrishnan, 2001. "The Dynamics of the Adoption of Product and Process Innovations in Organizations," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 45-65, January.
    2. Toke Reichstein & Ammon Salter, 2006. "Investigating the sources of process innovation among UK manufacturing firms," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 15(4), pages 653-682, August.
    3. Mary M. Crossan & Marina Apaydin, 2010. "A Multi‐Dimensional Framework of Organizational Innovation: A Systematic Review of the Literature," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(6), pages 1154-1191, September.
    4. Romero, Isidoro & Martínez-Román, Juan A., 2012. "Self-employment and innovation. Exploring the determinants of innovative behavior in small businesses," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 178-189.
    5. Zoltan J. Acs & David B. Audretsch, 2008. "Innovation in Large and Small Firms: An Empirical Analysis," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 1, pages 3-15, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Jörn Block & Philipp Sandner, 2009. "Necessity and Opportunity Entrepreneurs and Their Duration in Self-employment: Evidence from German Micro Data," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 117-137, June.
    7. Vartuhí Tonoyan & Robert Strohmeyer & Mohsin Habib & Manfred Perlitz, 2010. "Corruption and Entrepreneurship: How Formal and Informal Institutions Shape Small Firm Behavior in Transition and Mature Market Economies," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(5), pages 803-832, September.
    8. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    9. Carmen Bălan & Daniela Ioniţă, 2011. "Exploratory Research on the Organizational Learning in Small Enterprises and Implications for the Economic Higher Education," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 13(30), pages 464-481, June.
    10. Andrea Vaona & Mario Pianta, 2008. "Firm Size and Innovation in European Manufacturing," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 283-299, March.
    11. Raymond, W. & Mohnen, P. & Palm, F.C. & Schim van der Loeff, S., 2009. "Innovative sales, R&D and total innovation expenditures: panel evidence on their dynamics," Research Memorandum 028, Maastricht University, Maastricht Research School of Economics of Technology and Organization (METEOR).
    12. Patrick Rondé & Caroline Hussler, 2005. "Innovation in Regions : What Does Really Matter?," Post-Print hal-00279142, HAL.
    13. Parker, Simon C., 2005. "The Economics of Entrepreneurship: What We Know and What We Don't," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 1(1), pages 1-54, May.
    14. de Jong, Jeroen P.J. & Marsili, Orietta, 2006. "The fruit flies of innovations: A taxonomy of innovative small firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 213-229, March.
    15. Ronde, Patrick & Hussler, Caroline, 2005. "Innovation in regions: What does really matter?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 1150-1172, October.
    16. Danny Miller, 1983. "The Correlates of Entrepreneurship in Three Types of Firms," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(7), pages 770-791, July.
    17. Tödtling, Franz & Lehner, Patrick & Kaufmann, Alexander, 2008. "Do different types of innovation rely on specific kinds of knowledge interactions?," SRE-Discussion Papers 2008/01, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    18. Zoltan Acs & David Audretsch, 1990. "Innovation and Small Firms," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262011131, December.
    19. Joaquín Guzmán & F. Javier Santos, 2001. "The booster function and the entrepreneurial quality: an application to the province of Seville," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 211-228, July.
    20. Audretsch, David B. & Keilbach, Max, 2008. "Resolving the knowledge paradox: Knowledge-spillover entrepreneurship and economic growth," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 1697-1705, December.
    21. Galende, Jesus & de la Fuente, Juan Manuel, 2003. "Internal factors determining a firm's innovative behaviour," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 715-736, May.
    22. Jiménez-Jiménez, Daniel & Sanz-Valle, Raquel, 2011. "Innovation, organizational learning, and performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 408-417, April.
    23. Robinson, Peter B. & Sexton, Edwin A., 1994. "The effect of education and experience on self-employment success," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 141-156, March.
    24. Simon Mosey & Mike Wright, 2007. "From Human Capital to Social Capital: A Longitudinal Study of Technology–Based Academic Entrepreneurs," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 31(6), pages 909-935, November.
    25. Erkko Autio & Saurav Pathak & Karl Wennberg, 2013. "Consequences of cultural practices for entrepreneurial behaviors," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 44(4), pages 334-362, May.
    26. Barringer, Bruce R. & Jones, Foard F. & Neubaum, Donald O., 2005. "A quantitative content analysis of the characteristics of rapid-growth firms and their founders," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 663-687, September.
    27. Philipp Koellinger, 2008. "Why are some entrepreneurs more innovative than others?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 21-37, June.
    28. José Millán & Emilio Congregado & Concepción Román, 2012. "Determinants of self-employment survival in Europe," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 231-258, February.
    29. Arundel, Anthony & Kabla, Isabelle, 1998. "What percentage of innovations are patented? empirical estimates for European firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 127-141, June.
    30. Alfonso Miranda & Sophia Rabe-Hesketh, 2006. "Maximum likelihood estimation of endogenous switching and sample selection models for binary, ordinal, and count variables," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 6(3), pages 285-308, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ana Isabel Silva Almeida & Aurora A. C. Teixeira, 2017. "On The Work Values Of Entrepreneurs And Non-Entrepreneurs: A European Longitudinal Study," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(02), pages 1-29, June.
    2. Ding Hu & Xianming Fang & Yuting Meng DiGiovanni, 2023. "Technological progress, financial constrains, and digital financial inclusion," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 1693-1721, December.
    3. Friday Ogbu Edeh & Nurul Mohammad Zayed & Vitalii Nitsenko & Olha Brezhnieva-Yermolenko & Julia Negovska & Maryna Shtan, 2022. "Predicting Innovation Capability through Knowledge Management in the Banking Sector," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-12, July.
    4. Hongzhang Chen & Suchen Ai & Xiancheng Xiong & Dawei Feng, 2025. "Big data analytics and corporate financing constraints: Evidence from a developing country," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(4), pages 2224-2236, June.
    5. Richard J. Paulsen & Neil Alper & Gregory Wassall, 2021. "Arts majors as entrepreneurs and innovators," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 639-652, August.
    6. Isidoro Romero & Igone Porto Gómez & Jon Mikel Zabala-Iturriagagoitia, 2019. "‘Cookpetition’: Do restaurants coopete to innovate?," Tourism Economics, , vol. 25(6), pages 904-922, September.
    7. Xiaoyu Yu & Xiaotong Meng & Laura Stanley & Franz W. Kellermanns, 2024. "Self-employment and life satisfaction: The contingent role of formal institutions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(1), pages 135-163, June.
    8. Xu Wang & Li Cai & Xiumei Zhu & Shengliang Deng, 2022. "Female entrepreneurs’ gender roles, social capital and willingness to choose external financing," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(3), pages 432-457, July.
    9. Walid A Nakara & Karim Messeghem & Andry Ramaroson, 2019. "L’innovation produit et service dans un contexte de pauvreté : une analyse multiniveau," Post-Print hal-02519418, HAL.
    10. Adriana Burlea-Schiopoiu & Laurentiu Stelian Mihai, 2019. "An Integrated Framework on the Sustainability of SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-22, October.
    11. Dafna Kariv & Norris Krueger & Gavriellea Kashy & Luis Cisneros, 2024. "Process innovation is technology transfer too! How entrepreneurial businesses manage product and process innovation," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 49(5), pages 1762-1786, October.
    12. Walid A. Nakara & Karim Messeghem & Andry Ramaroson, 2021. "Innovation and entrepreneurship in a context of poverty: a multilevel approach," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1601-1617, April.
    13. Putu Dyah Permatha Korry & Armanu & Sudjatno & Risna Wijayanti, 2025. "The Agility of SME Entrepreneurs and Its Impact on Innovation and Entrepreneurial Resilience," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 3, pages 112-129.
    14. Nguyen, Phuc Canh & Nguyen, Bach & Thanh, Su Dinh, 2022. "The importance of export diversification for national entrepreneurship density," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 114-129.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Juan A. Martínez-Román & Isidoro Romero, 2017. "Determinants of innovativeness in SMEs: disentangling core innovation and technology adoption capabilities," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 543-569, July.
    2. Walid A Nakara & Karim Messeghem & Andry Ramaroson, 2019. "L’innovation produit et service dans un contexte de pauvreté : une analyse multiniveau," Post-Print hal-02519418, HAL.
    3. Walid A. Nakara & Karim Messeghem & Andry Ramaroson, 2021. "Innovation and entrepreneurship in a context of poverty: a multilevel approach," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1601-1617, April.
    4. Romero, Isidoro & Martínez-Román, Juan A., 2012. "Self-employment and innovation. Exploring the determinants of innovative behavior in small businesses," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 178-189.
    5. Diéguez-Soto, Julio & Garrido-Moreno, Aurora & Manzaneque, Montserrat, 2018. "Unravelling the link between process innovation inputs and outputs: The moderating role of family management," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 114-127.
    6. Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver & Francisca Sempere-Ripoll & Carles Boronat-Moll, 2014. "Process innovation strategy in SMEs, organizational innovation and performance: a misleading debate?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 873-886, December.
    7. Millán, José María & Congregado, Emilio & Román, Concepción, 2014. "Persistence in entrepreneurship and its implications for the European entrepreneurial promotion policy," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 83-106.
    8. Martínez-Román, Juan A. & Tamayo, Juan A. & Gamero, Javier & Romero, José E., 2015. "Innovativeness and business performances in tourism SMEs," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 118-135.
    9. Doh, Soogwan & Kim, Byungkyu, 2014. "Government support for SME innovations in the regional industries: The case of government financial support program in South Korea," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(9), pages 1557-1569.
    10. Martínez-Román, Juan A. & Gamero, Javier & Delgado-González, María de Loreto & Tamayo, Juan A., 2019. "Innovativeness and internationalization in SMEs: An empirical analysis in European countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    11. Kun Fu & Karl Wennberg & Björn Falkenhall, 2020. "Productive entrepreneurship and the effectiveness of insolvency legislation: a cross-country study," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 383-404, February.
    12. Isidoro Romero & Juan A. Martínez-Román, 2015. "Determinants of technology adoption in the retail trade industry – the case of SMEs in Spain," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 17(39), pages 646-646, May.
    13. Arranz, N. & Arroyabe, M.F. & Li, Jun & de Arroyabe, J.C. Fernandez, 2019. "An integrated model of organisational innovation and firm performance: Generation, persistence and complementarity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 270-282.
    14. Raquel Ortega-Argilés & Marco Vivarelli & Peter Voigt, 2009. "R&D in SMEs: a paradox?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 3-11, June.
    15. Chang, Yuan-Chieh & Chen, Min-Nan, 2016. "Service regime and innovation clusters: An empirical study from service firms in Taiwan," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9), pages 1845-1857.
    16. H. T. Tran & E. Santarelli, 2013. "Determinants and Effects of Innovative Activities in Vietnam. A Firm-level Analysis," Working Papers wp909, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    17. Joern H. Block & Christian O. Fisch & Mirjam van Praag, 2017. "The Schumpeterian entrepreneur: a review of the empirical evidence on the antecedents, behaviour and consequences of innovative entrepreneurship," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 61-95, January.
    18. Hervas-Oliver, Jose-Luis & Sempere-Ripoll, Francisca & Boronat-Moll, Carles, 2012. "Process innovation objectives and management complementarities: patterns, drivers, co-adoption and performance effects," MERIT Working Papers 2012-051, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    19. A. Lasagni, 2011. "European SMEs, external relationships and innovation: some empirical evidence," Economics Department Working Papers 2011-EP04, Department of Economics, Parma University (Italy).
    20. Bronwyn Hall & Francesca Lotti & Jacques Mairesse, 2009. "Innovation and productivity in SMEs: empirical evidence for Italy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 13-33, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:47:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s11187-016-9743-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.