This research contributes to the understanding of how different practices of innovation management are related to mid- and long-term growth and profitability. Governments and regional development agencies invest relevant budgets to foster innovation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and improve their innovation management practices to make them more competitive. Nevertheless, it is not clear what impact these practices have on a company's performance over a long period of time. We propose a model to audit and classify innovation practices and empirically test the impact of innovation practices on the firms’ long–term financial performance, using a broad sample of companies in the electronics sector. Our empirical results show that, within a regional context, companies that are similar in terms of size, position in the value chain, and ownership structure follow similar innovative practices. Furthermore, the use of a systematic approach for innovation leads to revenue growth but does not necessarily increase profit or productivity
Purpose The exchange of knowledge in social networks is fundamental to innovation. Open, interactive, innovation requires collaboration through social networks. This social networking is increasingly carried out across the Internet through social media applications. The purpose of this study is to explore the use of social media in open innovation, and explain how this practice is carried out in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With less resources than large firms, SMEs both have a greater need for open innovation and a less resources to invest in the process. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors study the case of open innovation in start-up Aurea Productiva and induce a framework for open innovation in SMEs powered by social media. Findings The authors explore how the main advantages of the Web 2.0 translate into opportunities, challenges and strategies for open innovation that can be directly applied by managers. Research limitations/implications The authors contribute to research on open innovation by social media and to research on the innovation process of SMEs. Future quantitative research could confirm and extend the authors’ findings. Practical implications Companies that want to fully exploit the benefits of social media can create a strategy that emphasizes coevolution of innovation and resources, sharing their vision and objectives and providing a framework for innovation. Originality/value The authors introduce an original analysis of opportunities, challenges and strategies for open innovation in SMEs.
The role of a leader is fundamental to increase organizational culture and facilitate employee engagement. However, organizations are not providing clear guidance on how to do it. This study aims to determine the relationship between leadership styles and employee engagement as well as to understand whether there is a correlation between an engaged employee and extra effort. The study uses a Multi-Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x Rater Form) to measure employee perception of the leader styles and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-17) to determine employee engagement. The scope of the study is limited to a sample of 167 employees from 7 different multinational companies and 31 different nationalities.Results show that all the transformational behaviors and, concretely the idealized behavior, are significantly positively related to work engagement in multinational environments. Results also reveal a strong correlation between employee engagement and extra effort. The study concludes that leaders or managers should use transformational behaviors if they want to increase engagement and extra effort with their teams. They should increase transformational behaviors like being transparent, consistent, and having a strong sense of purpose to catalyze a collective engagement. These results expand previous studies of transformational leadership and work engagement in multinational environments.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the rules of the game in many industries. This case details how the combination of open innovation and artificial intelligence generates new opportunities in the tourism sector. Specifically, how to create new customer experiences through searching tools, social platforms and cognitive interfaces to make intelligent decisions. The authors show that it is possible to increase tourist satisfaction by offering a set of customized activities and experiences according to their personal characteristics and motivations. The combination of cutting-edge digital technologies makes it possible to design new services in an automated and cost-affordable manner. The experience has been carried out in Lanzarote (Canary Islands, Spain), with support of IBM's Watson system. This is a good example of AI-fueled innovation in services, which is adequate for courses on innovation, technology, entrepreneurship and competitive strategy.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.