1st Edition
Low-Cost, Low-Tech Innovation New Product Development in the Food Industry
Like much of SMEs research, innovation studies of small enterprises have commenced later and are less numerous. The focus of such studies remains high-technology enterprises, which continue to attract both academic and popular interest, oblivious to the innovative endeavours of people in traditional low-tech industries.
This book attempts to address this imbalance through a comprehensive analysis of innovation in this largely neglected area. Based on case studies of seven small innovative food companies, this book presents an in-depth analysis of innovation in the Scottish food and drinks industry and unravels a lesser-known approach to effective low-cost product innovation, which is simple and economical, yet elegant and successful.
Using careful data collection and rigorous statistical testing, the analysis and findings in this book address a wide spectrum of interests: academics in business schools, policy makers in governments and executives and entrepreneurs in food and other low-technology sectors.
1. Innovation and New Product Development in the Food Industry: An overview of international research 2. Business Innovation: Meaning, antecedents, process and consequences 3. Methodology 4. Context of Study I 5. Context of Study II 6. Innovation in Case-study Companies 7. New Product Development in Scotland: A survey 8. Conclusions and Implications 9. Research Findings and Extant Literature: Congruence, conflict and implications
Biography
Vijay Vyas is Senior Lecturer in Entreprise and Entrepreneurship and Course Director of MSc, Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship at Portsmouth Business School; a former visiting Professor at Lancaster University Management School; and a former Professor of Business Economics at the MS University of Baroda in India.
'Vijay Vyas addresses the dearth of significant research on low tech SMEs. Drawing from case studies of seven small companies it throws light on effective low-cost product innovation in small innovative Scottish food companies. It will be an insightful resource for SMEs seeking to be innovative, including the non-innovative food companies. Its analysis and findings offers significant suggestions for Government policy makers.' - Sunil Shukla, Professor, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India
'Vijay Vyas's book provides a unique blend of insights that should be of interest to both academics and managers in the food industry. The book is full of insights about the role of innovation within Low-Tech industries and we are treated to a deep and well thought through study of the role of product innovation, its antecedents and its consequences for small business innovation' - Luke Pittaway, Professor, Center for Entrepreneurship, Ohio University, USA
