Outbound Innovation Strategic Plan for Malaysian SMEs in the Software Industry: An Operational Research Framework

The role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia plays a significant component in driving the nation’s economic growth. The present analysis focuses on a limited number of studies investigating SMEs' systematic methods for pursuing outbound innovation strategies. Hence, the focus is to evaluate the imperative need for outbound innovation strategies that can effectively contribute to a comprehensive strategic approach. This study aims to develop a comprehensive operational research framework that will be incorporated into the formulation of the strategic plan. The strategic plan will encompass external technology commercialization strategies specifically designed for SMEs. The operational research framework comprises three distinct phases. Phase 1 involves conducting semi-structured interviews. Phase 2 focuses on formulating the Outbound Innovation Strategic Plan (OISP). Lastly, Phase 3 entails evaluating the suitability of the OISP. The outcome of this research involves the development of an OISP specifically tailored for Malaysian SMEs in the software industry.