1st Edition
Innovation in SMEs and Micro Firms Culture, Entrepreneurial Dynamics and Regional Development
What is the role of culture in the innovation dynamic of small firms within the context of their territorial environments? How do shared values, beliefs and practices underpin the knowledge production process that leads to innovation? In what way do symbolic aspects of social life shape European SMEs’ innovation processes?
This volume gives an extensive insight into the complex links between culture and innovation in one of the key agents of economic life: SMEs and micro firms. The chapters employ different analytical and methodological strategies in regions of Europe to identify dimensions of culture, especially values, norms, skills and institutions, and to scrutinize which specific components of culture are relevant to firm innovation and to the more general dynamics of regional innovation. The original research presented shows how small firms learn, interact, compete and collaborate with other key agents of the innovation system. Taken as a whole, the volume points the way towards a more comprehensive framework for understanding the nature of innovation in SMEs and micro firms.
The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of European Planning Studies.
1. Introduction. Key issues on innovation, culture and institutions: implications for SMEs and Micro Firms Manuel Fernández-Esquinas, Madelon van Oostrom & Hugo Pinto 2. Culture and innovation in SMEs: the intellectual structure of research for further inquiry Miguel González-Loureiro, María José Sousa & Hugo Pinto 3. Exploring the links between culture and innovation in Micro Firms: cultural dimensions, social mechanisms and outcomes Madelon van Oostrom & Manuel Fernández-Esquinas 4. The ‘Enterprise of Innovation’ in hard times: corporate culture and performance in Italian high-tech companies Francesco Ramella 5. A new approach to business innovation modes: the ‘Research, Technology and Human Resource Management (RTH) model’ in the ICT sector in Belarus Natalja Apanasovich, Henar Alcalde Heras & Davide Parrilli 6. Strengthening SMEs’ innovation culture through collaborations with public research organizations. Do all firms benefit equally? Julia Olmos-Peñuela, Ana García-Granero, Elena Castro-Martínez & Pablo D’Este 7. Innovative culture in district innovation systems of European ceramics SMEs Daniel Gabaldón Estevan & Josep-Antoni Ybarra 8. Entrepreneurial process in peripheral regions: the role of motivation and culture Francisco García-Rodríguez, Espanza Gil-Soto, Inés Ruiz-Rosa & Desiderio Gutiérrez-Tano 9. Making visible the role of vocational education and training in firm innovation: evidence from Spanish SMEs Eneka Albizu, Mikel Olazaran, Cristina Lavia & Beatriz Otero 10. Pragmatic urbanism: London Railway arches and Small-Scale enterprise Francesca Froy 11. The use of design as a strategic tool for innovation: an analysis for different firms' networking behaviours Marisa Cesário, Dora Agapito, Helena Almeida & Silvia Fernandes
Biography
Manuel Fernández-Esquinas is a Research Scientist at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). His research interests lie in the intersection of the sociology of innovation and science policy. Currently he is serving as President of the Spanish Sociological Federation and Director of the Spanish Journal of Sociology.
Madelon van Oostrom is Lecturer and Researcher at Hanze University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands and Innovation Manager of Tenerife Science & Technology Park, Spain. Her professional and academic interests concern innovation culture, entrepreneurship, institutions and education, and learning of skills and competences for innovation.
Hugo Pinto is a Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, and Professor in the Faculty of Economics, University of Algarve, Portugal. Economist, PhD in Governance and Innovation, his research interests are regional innovation systems, knowledge transfer and smart specialisation in peripheral territories.
