"Prior research poses a puzzle about small firms’ innovation processes. On the one hand, an extensive body of research on new product development (NPD) has identified benefits of a formalized process, with well-planned activities and decision points: a formal product innovation process is considered part of NPD best practice. On the other hand, case study evidence suggests that small firms seldom use such formalized process structures.
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most product innovation management research has focused solely on large firms, or has failed to distinguish between large and small firms
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this study shows that the effectual approach suits small firm characteristics, even though it differs from mainstream best practices that are based largely on research in larger firms. This suggests that product innovation research should explicitly differentiate on firm size, rather than prescribing large firm best practices to small firms.
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Small firms are not miniature versions of large firms, and their characteristics constitute particular strengths and limitations for product innovation. A key strength of small firms is flexibility: they usually lack bureaucracy, are often managed by an owner/director who is able to take key decisions quickly, enjoy efficient and informal internal communication patterns, and develop strong relationships with customers. These characteristics enable rapid responses to technical and market changes, often resulting in differentiated products for niche markets.
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On the downside, small firms have limited resources for product innovation projects. Lack of financial resources to cover the costs of innovation was identified as a key barrier in several studies. These constraints exacerbate the risks of innovation for small firms, which cannot sustain many failures. Besides limited financial and other material resources, small firms may lack the skills portfolios of their large company counterparts, especially the organizational and marketing capabilities to exploit new products. Further, a small firm’s position in its industry may constrain prospects to create and exploit innovations because of lack of name recognition, brand credibility, and track record; restricted influence on industry standards; limited network relations with other business and governmental organizations; and inability to defend trademarks or other proprietary resources.
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Furthermore, small firms typically pursue few innovation projects at any one time—maybe just one, or even none at times. Consequently, their experience in product innovation is often limited. With no need to manage a portfolio of innovation projects at the same time and thus no pressure to select among projects to allocate resources, small firms have neither opportunity nor incentive to routinize innovation or formalize NPD stage-gates or selection procedures, as big firms do.
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For example, early market screening and market research, identified as key activities in structured large firm NPD processes, are consistently lacking or poorly executed in small firms.
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These empirical findings undermine the assumption that NPD in small firms should mimic larger firm NPD and adopt large firms’ best practices."
terça-feira, maio 29, 2018
Cuidado com o que propõe às PME
Recordar o que escrevo há anos e anos sobre a diferença entre as PME da micro-economia e as empresas grandes:
Entretanto, em "Product Innovation Processes in Small Firms: Combining Entrepreneurial Effectuation and Managerial Causation" encontro:
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