IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/unm/unumer/2014032.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Beyond product innovation; improving innovation policy support for SMEs in traditional industries

Author

Listed:
  • Wintjes, R.

    (UNU-MERIT / MGSoG)

  • Douglas, D.

    (Centre for Applied Business Research, Faculty of Business, Education and Law, Staffordshire University)

  • Fairburn, J.

    (Centre for Applied Business Research, Faculty of Business, Education and Law, Staffordshire University)

  • Hollanders, H.

    (UNU-MERIT)

  • Pugh, G.

    (Centre for Applied Business Research, Faculty of Business, Education and Law, Staffordshire University)

Abstract

Innovation support measures in the EU are mostly designed to support product innovation in RD intensive sectors. To increase the still considerable contribution to regional employment and competitiveness from SMEs in traditional manufacturing industries a broader innovation policy mix is more appropriate. This paper draws data from a survey of more than 300 SMEs from seven regions within the European Union, as well as case studies, to address the question How can innovation policy interventions be improved to support SMEs in traditional manufacturing industries more effectively We claim that innovation support should be sensitive to the way SMEs in traditional manufacturing sectors innovate and grow. We find that product innovation and support used for product innovation is less likely to generate growth, than support used for process innovation. Also support used for marketing innovations and organizational innovations are of particular importance - together with internationalization, design and cooperation. The increasingly selective application procedures applied are not the most efficient to generate impact, since those who are supported and those who are supported more frequently, are the ones who are most likely to take the same innovative steps anyhow, irrespective of policy support.

Suggested Citation

  • Wintjes, R. & Douglas, D. & Fairburn, J. & Hollanders, H. & Pugh, G., 2014. "Beyond product innovation; improving innovation policy support for SMEs in traditional industries," MERIT Working Papers 2014-032, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
  • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2014032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2014/wp2014-032.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mairesse, Jacques & Mohnen, Pierre, 2010. "Using Innovation Surveys for Econometric Analysis," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 1129-1155, Elsevier.
    2. Pavitt, Keith, 1984. "Sectoral patterns of technical change: Towards a taxonomy and a theory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 13(6), pages 343-373, December.
    3. Lesley Potters, 2009. "R&D in low-tech sectors," JRC Working Papers on Corporate R&D and Innovation 2009-8, Joint Research Centre.
    4. Robertson, Paul & Smith, Keith & von Tunzelmann, Nick, 2009. "Innovation in low- and medium-technology industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 441-446, April.
    5. Asheim, Bjørn & M. Bugge, Markus & Coenen, Lars & Herstad, Sverre, 2013. "What Does Evolutionary Economic Geography Bring To The Policy Table? Reconceptualising regional innovation systems," Papers in Innovation Studies 2013/5, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    6. Nelson, Richard R, 1981. "Research on Productivity Growth and Productivity Differences: Dead Ends and New Departures," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 19(3), pages 1029-1064, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Ioanna Kastelli & Aggelos Tsakanikas & Yannis Caloghirou, 2018. "Technology transfer as a mechanism for dynamic transformation in the food sector," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 882-900, August.
    2. Pierre J. Tremblay, 1998. "Informal Thinkering: How Is It Important?," CIRANO Working Papers 98s-13, CIRANO.
    3. Andrés Barge-Gil & Alberto López, 2015. "R versus D: estimating the differentiated effect of research and development on innovation results," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 24(1), pages 93-129.
    4. Dario Guarascio & Mario Pianta & Francesco Bogliacino, 2017. "Export, R&D and New Products: A Model and a Test on European Industries," Economic Complexity and Evolution, in: Andreas Pyka & Uwe Cantner (ed.), Foundations of Economic Change, pages 393-432, Springer.
    5. Attila Havas, 2016. "Social and Business Innovations: Are Common Measurement Approaches Possible?," Foresight-Russia Форсайт, CyberLeninka;Федеральное государственное автономное образовательное учреждение высшего образования «Национальный исследовательский университет «Высшая школа экономики», vol. 10(2 (eng)), pages 58-80.
    6. Gabriele Pellegrino & Mariacristina Piva & Marco Vivarelli, 2015. "How do new entrepreneurs innovate?," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 42(3), pages 323-341, September.
    7. Muhammad Nouman & Mohammad Sohail Yunis & Muhammad Atiq & Owais Mufti & Abdul Qadus, 2022. "‘The Forgotten Sector’: An Integrative Framework for Future Research on Low- and Medium-Technology Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-19, March.
    8. Piotr Dzikowski, 2022. "Product and process innovation patterns in Polish low and high technology systems," Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 17(3), pages 747-773, September.
    9. Harabi, Najib, 1994. "Technischer Fortschritt in der Schweiz: Empirische Ergebnisse aus industrieökonomischer Sicht [Technischer Fortschritt in der Schweiz:Empirische Ergebnisse aus industrieökonomischer Sicht]," MPRA Paper 6725, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. MahdaviMazdeh, Hossein & Saunders, Chad & Hawkins, Richard William & Dewald, Jim, 2021. "Reconsidering the dynamics of innovation in the natural resource industries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    11. Michaela Trippl, 2010. "Low_Tech Innovation in a High-Tech Environment? The Case of the Food Industry in the Vienna Metropolitan Region," SRE-Disc sre-disc-2010_02, Institute for Multilevel Governance and Development, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    12. Giulio Bottazzi & Giovanni Dosi & Nadia Jacoby & Angelo Secchi & Federico Tamagni, 2010. "Corporate performances and market selection: some comparative evidence," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 19(6), pages 1953-1996, December.
    13. Bent Dalum & Gert Villumsen, 1996. "Are OECD Export Specialisation Patterns 'Sticky'? Relations to the Convergence-Divergence Debate," DRUID Working Papers 96-3, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    14. Pieper, Ute, 2002. "Patterns of inter-sectoral diffusion of technological growth: income, concentration, and public capital stocks," Research Memorandum 012, Maastricht University, Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    15. Barbosa, Natália & Faria, Ana Paula, 2011. "Innovation across Europe: How important are institutional differences?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(9), pages 1157-1169.
    16. Michaela Trippl, 2011. "Low-Tech Innovation in a High-Tech Environment? The Food Industry in the Metropolitan Region of Vienna," ERSA conference papers ersa10p133, European Regional Science Association.
    17. Trott, Paul & Simms, Chris, 2017. "An examination of product innovation in low- and medium-technology industries: Cases from the UK packaged food sector," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 605-623.
    18. Vergara, Sebastián, 2021. "The role of productive and technological capabilities in export dynamics in developing countries," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), April.
    19. Roberto Alvarez & Rolando Campusano, 2014. "Does Competition Spur Innovation in Developing Countries?," Working Papers wp388, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    20. Dosi, Giovanni & Nelson, Richard R., 2010. "Technical Change and Industrial Dynamics as Evolutionary Processes," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 51-127, Elsevier.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    SMEs; Manufacturing; Innovation policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:unm:unumer:2014032. 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: Ad Notten (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/meritnl.html .

    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.