Competitive intelligence and absorptive capacity for enhancing innovation performance of SMEs

Abstract

In dynamic and complex environments, it can be difficult for small and mediumsizedenterprises (SMEs) to achieve business performance, innovate and survive, even thoughthese actions are crucial for economic growth and competitiveness. Competitive intelligence (CI)appears as a strategic practice to help them. Although there are many theoretical studies thatpropose the relationship between CI and innovation, few studies have conducted empiricalstudies in the context of SMEs. The objective of this paper is to investigate how competitiveintelligence enhances innovation performance in the context of a SME. Based on a literaturereview and empirical data from several interviews with managers of one SME, our findingsallowed us to propose a framework showing the contribution of CI to innovation performancerelying on absorptive capacity. Our findings also highlight that a prospector owner-managercan improve the results of CI in the SME and contribute to better innovation performance.

Competitive intelligence practices in Japanese companies: multicase studies

“…Some recent studies reported that innovation is an important scope of CI (Calof and Swedass, 2020; Atkinson et al. , 2020; Hassani and Mosconi, 2021; Heras-Rosas et al. , 2021), while Poblano-Ojinaga et al .…”

“…According to Sewdass and Du Toit (2014), the most important scope of CI is grasping the trends in government regulations. Some recent studies reported that innovation is an important scope of CI (Calof and Swedass, 2020;Atkinson et al, 2020;Hassani and Mosconi, 2021;Heras-Rosas et al, 2021), while Poblano-Ojinaga et al (2019) proposed that the relationship between CI and innovation is indirect. Competitiveness depends not only on competitors but also on the others.…”

Strategic Marketing: The Importance of Competitive Intelligence in the Decision-Making Process for Strategic Marketing

“…This was stated in the article. And discovering (Hassani & Mosconi, 2021) that strategic decisions are those that involve the study of dynamic issues that require analysis, are largely stable, and deal with the organization's goals; the significance of these decisions, as well as their order of priority, vary depending on the administrative level they are made at. Supreme strategic decisions of great significance, as well as the emotionally taxing and difficult use of analysts and advisors, as well as the participation of all actors involved in the issue to ensure sound decisions and market players, are all aspects that must be taken into consideration in order to guarantee success.…”

The Role of Social Media and Innovation in Mexican Industrial Entrepreneurship

“…According to Papa et al (2018), the ability of companies to innovate and the existence of social media contribute to explaining industrial entrepreneurship, creating new business models and strategies based on new digital communication instruments (Hassani et al, 2021) that bring information that allows the development of business intelligence to better decision-making regarding the composition of the production chain: efficient suppliers in the delivery of orders for productive inputs (raw materials and sophisticated technologies), workers with higher qualifications, and an increase in potential consumers through the development of new product lines based on greater accuracy of market research results (Baum et al, 2018;Luomaranta & Martinsuo, 2020). Based on the above, the following hypothesis is established:…”

“…However, in such a dynamics the most complex and expensive process is industrial product innovation (Hassani et al, 2021;Singh-Panesar & Markeset, 2008), that is also a source of growth and future income for manufacturing firms. The ability of an industrial firm to generate a consistent quantity of product innovations can significantly improve the entrepreneurship of its businesses by increasing levels of competition and decreasing product life cycles, resulting in the introduction of a variety of newly manufactured products.…”