Do entrepreneurial knowledge and innovative attitude overcome “imperfections” in the innovation process? Insights from SMEs in the UK and Italy

Abstract

On the basis that entrepreneurial knowledge spurs innovation and, in turn, generates a competitive advantage, the research seeks to explore the key "imperfections" of innovation process due to the dynamic, current technological progress in the knowledge intensive sector. The "imperfections" identified in risk management, asymmetric information in the knowledge management process, and holdup problems, can all disrupt collaborative partnerships and limit opportunities for innovation. Design/methodology/approach By offering a case study analysis on two small to medium enterprises one operating in the United Kingdom and the other one in Italy, the study explores three key imperfections: risk management, asymmetric information in the knowledge management process, and holdup problems which occur in the innovation process. Finding The entrepreneurs face these imperfections by adopting an open innovation model. Notwithstanding both entrepreneurs had to deal with all "imperfections", their skills attributes, attitude, and aptitude allow them to grow their business and continually develop new products. Therefore, the imperfections do not limit the innovative capacity of an entrepreneur but rather enhance their challengeable attitude. In this regard, the case studies induce a further analysis on entrepreneurial knowledge intertwined with entrepreneurial risk management and networking skills. Research limitations/implications The empirical significance of two cases does not allow theorization. However, the research offers interesting results which can be strengthened by a comparative case study with other countries or deep investigated by a quantitative approach. Originality/value By leveraging entrepreneurial knowledge the imperfections noted in the innovation process can be overcome. Entrepreneurial knowledge is recognised as the main asset of an enterprise if it is combined with external talent or human resources. Entrepreneurs aim to develop innovative approaches and ideas through establishing both formal and informal collaborative partnerships relationships which are employed thanks to the entrepreneurs' networking skills, knowledge, and abilities.

From Barriers to Enablers: The Role of Organizational Learning in Transitioning SMEs into the Circular Economy

“…In particular, following the OL and CE literature [23,28,45,68,78], we suggest that the proposed contextual elements might act at the same time as barriers and drivers for CBM-oriented OL processes; in this context, the activation of knowledge dynamics among organizational and external actors could contribute to transform the contextual elements acting as barriers into potential enablers for the organizational sustainability under a circular approach.…”

“…Also at the organizational level, the SME managers underline that the above-mentioned intraorganizational CE-oriented activities need to be envisioned from a green top-management cultural approach towards the organization, as the overall organizational culture usually follows [86]. In this sense, as already pointed out by earlier SME-related literature [68,91], the role of top-management in the orientation of the whole organization from a cultural point of view gains even more importance in the sustainable transition towards CE, as the deus ex machina (i.e., the decisive problemsolver, from Latin) of the whole organizational evolution. As from the SC level analysis, to overcome of structural and process barriers through a green culture disposition appears to be proved and particularly emphasized also in the organizational context.…”

“…Following Wenger [59], also other studies have focused on the professional association context as a possible configuration of a CoP [66], shedding light of the potential role of this interorganizational setting for learning scopes. Specific interorganizational learning processes are at disposal for organizations to evolve into a sustainable and CE approach, such as alliances and networks [67]; in addition, those interorganizational solutions appear to be specifically useful to minimize the structural limitations of SMEs as they might offer resource and structure sharing [68]. Other networking solutions for organizations are represented by the participation in research projects carried out by universities or research centers [69] or activated by partner firms [70] which could be related to the development of OL processes focused on specific industrial applications.…”

“…Here, we build on seminal contributions on OL contextual elements [78] to propose specific factors that influence the occurrence of CBM-oriented OL processes, and thus the organizational sustainability inside SMEs: external environment, supply chain context, organizational features and a multi-level notion of culture. Some of the above-mentioned contextual elements are aligned to the barriers and drivers highlight from recent literature as influencing CE implementation and sustainable transition inside organizations [46,68], and particularly SMEs (e.g., [23]).…”

SMEs and the Innovation Management Process: A multi-level process conceptual framework

“…Innovation processes have been the subject of studies by researchers from multiple disciplines, such as technology management, engineering, and strategy. However, most works in this area have focused on identifying organizational factors, strategic factors, and other factors related to innovation that determine its success (Hart & Baker, 1994;Pierre & Fernandez, 2018;Usai et al, 2018). One of the most useful classifications was made by Rothwell (1992Rothwell ( , 1994, who identified five generations of innovation process models: 1) technology push, 2) market pull, 3) coupling or research and development (R&D) and marketing, 4) integrated models, 5) system integration and networking models.…”