PurposeThe objective of this study is to explore the types of innovation that are predominant in UK SMEs, whether they are predominantly radical or incremental, and to investigate the impact of these innovations on performance.Design/methodology/approachA web‐based survey instrument was used to administer survey questionnaires to a sample of UK SMEs in manufacturing, engineering, electronics, information technology and telecommunications industries. The response rate was 13.8 percent. Relevant statistical analytical techniques including regression for analysis was then used.FindingsIt is found that the SMEs tend to focus more on incremental than radical innovations and that this focus is related to growth in sales turnover.Practical implicationsIt is not such a bad idea for SMEs, particularly those operating in high technological industries, to focus on incremental innovations as these are actually related positively to sales turnover growth.Originality/valueAn investigation of the types of innovation that SMEs pursue is pioneering in the field as previous studies of this type have been based on large firms. The contention that the raison d'etre of SMEs is to develop radical innovations is not supported empirically, at least for the sample of SMEs. In addition, it is found that the age of an SME is not related to its focus on either incremental or radical innovation. These are the contributions of this paper.

Research has shown that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are rapidly adopting the Internet and e-commerce. However, there is little systematic research into how such companies are adopting this new technology. This study addresses the research gap by seeking to understand how SMEs in the UK are adopting e-commerce, through an exploration of their level and sequence of adoption. The research, which was carried out by means of a mailed questionnaire, found four distinct clusters of adoption. These formed a set of sequential stages, through which firms appear to pass during the adoption of e-commerce. The firms in the first cluster are currently developing their first e-commerce services; the second adoption cluster are using e-mail to communicate with customers, suppliers and employees. Those at the third level of adoption have information-based websites operating and are developing on-line ordering facilities. The most advanced adopters have on-line ordering in operation and are developing online payment capabilities. The association of the adoption stage currently reached by a firm with contextual variables both at an industry and an organizational level is investigated and discussed.

SUE BIRLEY IS PROFESSOR OF management at Imperial College, London, England, Stanley Cromie is professor and director of the Centre for Management Education at the Ulster Business School, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, and Andrew Myers is with the Cranifield School of Management, England. This paper discusses the need for information in organisations and the particular relevance of non-documented data which is gathered by managers from a network of personal contacts. It examines some of the issues involved in assessing the characteristics of personal networks and proposes that network activiety, density and diversity are the crucial features of business networks. The paper suggests that personal networking is a particularly appropriate mechanism for information gathering by owners/managers of small organisations, examines the personal networks of 274 business proprietors and compares the findings of this study with similar ones conducted in the United States of America, Sweden and Italy. Results indicate that entrepreneurial networks in Northern Ireland are smaller than elsewhere and that little zeal is displayed in increasing their size. However, considerable energy is devoted to maintaining existing networks and they are of relativly high density. Northern Irish networks are quite heterogenous with business associates, family, friends and professionals to the fore but the dearth of owner/managers and employees in the personal contact networks is quite surprising.

This study investigates the interactions of innovation strategy execution and innovation‐focused human resource (HR) policy adoption on innovation performance and revenue growth. In addition, we investigate the moderating role of environmental uncertainty on the effects of innovation strategy execution and innovation‐focused HR policy on innovation performance. Results show that the interaction of innovation strategy execution and innovation‐focused HR policy is positively related to innovation performance. Results also show that environmental uncertainty positively moderates the innovation strategy execution–innovation performance relationship. Finally, innovation performance mediates the interaction of innovation strategy execution and environmental uncertainty on firms’ revenue growth. Implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.

BackgroundImmigrants and refugees are affected by diabetes-related health disparities, with higher rates of incident diabetes and sub-optimal diabetes outcomes. Digital storytelling interventions for chronic diseases, such as diabetes may be especially powerful among immigrants because often limited English proficiency minimizes access to and affects the applicability of the existing health education opportunities. Community-based participatory research (CBPR), whereby community members and academia partner in an equitable relationship through all phases of the research, is an intuitive approach to develop these interventions. The main objective of this study was to develop a diabetes digital storytelling intervention with and for immigrant and refugee populations.MethodsWe used a CBPR approach to develop a diabetes digital storytelling intervention with and for immigrant and refugee Somali and Latino communities. Building on an established CBPR partnership, we conducted focus groups among community members with type II diabetes for a dual purpose: 1) to inform the intervention as it related to four domains of diabetes self-management (medication management, glucose self-monitoring, physical activity, and nutrition); 2) to identify champion storytellers for the intervention development. Eight participants attended a facilitated workshop for the creation of the digital stories.ResultsEach of the eight storytellers, from the Somali and Latino communities with diabetes (four from each group), created a powerful and compelling story about their struggles and accomplishments related to the four domains of diabetes self-management.ConclusionsThis report is on a systematic, participatory process for the successful development of a diabetes storytelling intervention for Somali and Latino adults. Processes and products from this work may inform the work of other CBPR partnerships.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2628-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Objective Over four-fifths of reported expenditures for marketing tobacco products occur at the retail point of sale (POS). To date, no systematic review has synthesized the methods used for surveillance of POS marketing. This review sought to describe the audit objectives, methods, and measures used to study retail tobacco environments. Methods We systematically searched 11 academic databases for papers indexed on or before March 14, 2012, identifying 2,906 papers. Two coders independently reviewed each abstract or fulltext to identify papers with the following criteria: (1) data collectors visited and assessed (2) retail environments using (3) a data collection instrument for (4) tobacco products or marketing. We excluded papers where limited measures of products and/or marketing were incidental. Two abstractors independently coded included papers for research aims, locale, methods, measures used, and measurement properties. We calculated descriptive statistics regarding the use of 4 P’s of marketing (product, price, placement, promotion) and for measures of study design, sampling strategy, and sample size. Results We identified 88 store audit studies. Most studies focus on enumerating the number of signs or other promotions. Several strengths, particularly in sampling, are noted, but substantial improvements are indicated in the reporting of reliability, validity, and audit procedures. Conclusions Audits of POS tobacco marketing have made important contributions to understanding industry behaviour, the uses of marketing, and resulting health behaviours. Increased emphasis on standardization and the use of theory are needed in the field. We propose key components of audit methodology that should be routinely reported.

IntroductionThe Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act regulates the sales and marketing of tobacco products in the United States; poor adherence by tobacco retailers may reduce the effectiveness of the Act’s provisions. The objectives of this study were 1) to assess whether and to which provisions retailers were adherent and 2) to examine differences in adherence by county, retailer neighborhood, and retailer characteristics.MethodsWe conducted multivariate analysis of tobacco retailers’ adherence to 12 point-of-sale provisions of the Tobacco Control Act in 3 North Carolina counties. We conducted observational audits of 324 retailers during 3 months in 2011 to assess adherence. We used logistic regression to assess associations between adherence to provisions and characteristics of each county, retailer neighborhood, and retailer.ResultsWe found 15.7% of retailers did not adhere to at least 1 provision; 84.3% adhered to all provisions. The provisions most frequently violated were the ban on sales of cigarettes with modified-risk labels (eg, “light” cigarettes) (43 [13.3%] retailers nonadherent) and the ban on self-service for cigarettes and smokeless tobacco (6 [1.9%] retailers nonadherent). We found significant differences in rates of nonadherence by county and type of retailer. Pharmacies and drug stores were more than 3 times as likely as grocery stores to be nonadherent.ConclusionMost tobacco retailers have implemented regulatory changes without enforcement by the US Food and Drug Administration. Monitoring rates of adherence by store type and locale (eg, county) may help retailers comply with point-of-sale provisions.

ObjectivesE-cigarette companies and vendors claim the potential of e-cigarettes to help smokers reduce or quit tobacco use. E-cigarettes also have the potential to renormalise smoking. The purpose of this study was to describe the availability and in-store marketing of e-cigarettes in London, UK stores selling tobacco and alcohol.DesignObservational study.SettingSmall and large stores selling alcohol and tobacco in London, UK.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe number of stores selling e-cigarettes, the number of stores with an interior or exterior e-cigarette advertisement, the number of stores with an e-cigarette point-of-sale movable display, store size, deprivation index score for store's corresponding lower super output area.ResultsAudits were completed in 108 of 128 selected stores. 62 of the audited stores (57%) sold e-cigarettes. E-cigarette availability was unrelated to store size. There was a statistically non-significant trend towards increased availability in more deprived areas (p=0.069). 31 of the 62 stores (50%) selling e-cigarettes had a point-of-sale movable display, with all but one found in small stores. Two small stores had interior advertisements and eight had exterior advertisements. No advertisements were observed in large stores.ConclusionsThis audit revealed widespread availability of e-cigarettes and in-store marketing in London, UK. Even if e-cigarettes prove to be an effective cessation aid, their sale and use are resulting in an increasing public presence of cigarette-like images and smoking behaviour. After decades of work to denormalise smoking, these findings raise the question of whether e-cigarettes are renormalising smoking.