Search

aFor many years innovation has been an integral part of improvements to products and services. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been known as innovation generators, and their importance is paramount for the growth of economy. And yet despite their great importance, there is still a lack of understanding about how SMEs and High-tech SMEs (HTSMEs) with complex products conduct their management of innovation of New Product Development (NPD). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide a foundation for addressing the suggested gaps in the literature and to show that further research is needed in innovation management of NPD and how it is connected to HTSMEs. Renewable energy wind turbine sources and the potential growth they represent for SMEs was a factor in choosing this sector as the subject of this research. HTSMEs with creative ideas and innovations of complex products need to adequately manage product development. This recognises the organisation's practices and processes during NPD and the need for innovation management (IM) as a part of an organisation's capabilities in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). The aim of this thesis is to explore and validate a major qualitative abductive methodology from the findings of 21 High-tech Small Medium Enterprises management in relation to complex wind turbine invention-innovation (creative destruction) practices and processes during the NPD. Analysis, synthesis, and conclusions from the findings of this study are interpreted and discussed in the context of the definition, concepts, characteristics, theoretical, and conceptual framework. Finally, implications for managerial practice offer a deeper understanding of how HTSME manage innovation practices and processes occur during NPD building a superior product and recommendations for further research that can be valuable to academics, practitioners, and other researchers who are seeking ideas for research topics are presented and discussed.

The process of innovation in organisations is often complex and this complexity is compounded in peripherally located or rural smaller and micro size firms. Governments are aware of the importance of creating a progressive business support infrastructure to assist rural development and regional competitiveness. In terms of agricultural and rural advisory services, business advice of various forms is now offered via a range of bodies and agencies, following the network model of development and business, designed to encourage collective action. This thesis addresses gaps in knowledge around how micro size enterprises engage with business support networks for knowledge exchange and innovation. The aim of this research is to explore the role of business support programmes in the development of innovation in micro size enterprises, within an artisan food context. The thesis takes a multiple theoretical perspective, utilising concepts from the knowledge exchange (open innovation) and the rural, social networks literatures to explore micro firm engagement with business networks for innovation, the nature of network development, the business actor-producer relationship and the impact on knowledge exchange and innovation. The geographical context for the study is Northern Ireland. A qualitative methodology was adopted, utilising semi-structured interviews, focus groups and observations, and incorporating the views of micro enterprises and business support actors. The findings highlight that these enterprises are typically innovative, particularly in terms of product development, and are creative in how they source knowledge for innovation purposes. They generally do not engage heavily with business support actors for innovation, but they appreciate the benefits of knowledge exchange and peer learning. The barriers to engagement in business support programmes are quite complex and are largely related to the enterprises' constructions of the value of such engagement, which is linked to their previous experiences and their attitudes towards growth. Trust is a major theme in business support engagement and the success of business support programmes. This thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge by building on gaps in the literature on how artisanal food enterprises innovate and how micro enterprises interact with business support actors for innovation and knowledge exchange purposes, and the impacts of that interaction. The study developes a conceptual framework using theory building that can serve as the basis for future research into this largely exploratory area. Specific suggestions for future research are made. There are several key policy implications emerging from the findings.

This thesis explores the extent of use and the impact of the public financed support schemes using a human capital theory framework to analyse a large scale quantitative survey of 328 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia. All of the businesses in the study are family businesses who employ at least one other family member in addition to the key decision maker in the businesses.

Innovative high-technology SMEs have become a major influencing factor in the success of any modern economy and they increasingly compete in the globalised world with limited resources. Previous research on SMEs at firm level has always taken into consideration the constraints of the resources that an SME faces and the implications of this on their performance and business growth. SMEs have to develop their own unique skills and capabilities, allocating their limited resources appropriately to be able to respond to the changes in the external business environment that pose risks to the success of their innovation and its commercialisation. Having an innovation strategy is very important: to have a clear goal and a path to achieve the set goal. This helps high-technology SMEs to decide which factors can influence the success of their innovations, leading to business growth by developing dynamic capabilities to respond to the external changes by allocating their resources at their disposal. This thesis is an empirical analysis of innovation strategy and its role in the business growth of high-technology SMEs. This research study is carried out at firm level. It draws on Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capability theory to explore innovation strategy factors contributing to the better performance of the firm. Four hypotheses were proposed based on the theoretical framework developed through the literature review. They were tested using empirical data. The primary data were collected using quantitative methods through survey questionnaire. Data was collected from 106 high-technology SMEs in the UK. Technological factor, marketing factor, entrepreneurial factor and risk from the business environment were identified as four important factors which are part of an innovation strategy. The results of the study suggest three revised factors: technology, entrepreneurial and government-related risk factors. The initial risk related to business environment was amended to government-related risk factors based on the measurement variables which were loaded to the factor. However, one hypothesis based on the marketing factor failed to support the proposed positive influence on business growth and hence rejected. This calls for further research on the marketing factor in high-technology SMEs. This study recognises the reason behind this paradoxical result, which could be the nature of the high-technology firms participating in this study, which are more dependent on technology-push rather than marketing pull and they do not confirm with the established norms of marketing for the business growth of their firm. This study contributes to the development of knowledge and practice at multiple levels. The research developed a theoretical framework to establish the innovation strategy factors and its influence on business growth and this is validated through empirical data. At the practice level, the results of the study could be used by high-technology SMEs in the UK, and any other high-technology SMEs which are based in a similar economy and business environment, to have better information about innovation strategy. The study could also help policy makers, propose better policy to support innovation of high-technology SMEs in UK.