Identification of competencies in innovation process: the case of a tourism SME

In terms of innovation, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are faced with a delicate balance. On the one hand, they are well-known for having important features to stay competitive against larger firms: internal flexibility, responsiveness, flexibility in internal communications and fast decision-making. On the other hand, they have shortcomings in terms of resources and competencies, especially human and financial, which are necessary for any innovation projects. Also, we have found few studies seeking to understand this ambivalence. To partially fill this lack, we propose to improve the understanding of the innovation process in SMEs, and this, thanks to the identification of competencies necessary to its success. To do so, our research was based on a longitudinal study of an innovative process in a very small tourism business H2H (Hotel2Hotel). The analysis of the case of H2H, confronted with the chain-linked model of Kline and Rosenberg (1986) and with the resource and competence based view, allows, on the one hand, to reveal the existence of six phases in the innovation process, and to identify five break points marking the passage between the phases, and on the other hand, to identify the existence of competencies favorable to the development of innovation in an SME, namely technological, organizational and environmental competencies.