Meeting radical change : SMEs and innovation capabilities

• Radically new ideas, or disruptive innovations, would expect to come from inside companies, or possibly in their collaboration with other parties. However, they may also be 'forced' on a company from outside, and then be so without necessarily bringing any solutions on how to deal with the new situation. The energy sector is bound to deal with major changes. For SMEs acting in the sector, their ability to take on, or even invent, new solutions to meet such pressures may be limited. The sector is marked by high investment costs and the sector is also highly regulated in terms of what to produce. In this study we explore how prepared SMEs are to meet radical change in the energy sector. Managers from ten SMEs in Finland completed an Innovation Fitness survey and were interviewed. The study indicates how the SME managers are unprepared for new external requirements and need to better orient themselves before actually being able to tackle arising issues. The paper points to the importance of actively searching the environment for changes. It contributes to the innovation literature through pointing to how innovation may be forced from the outside, and deal with fighting for its survival, rather than be seen as a competitive advantage from inside out.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Business Studies

Företagsekonomi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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