Innovation behavior of technology-based SME

The ability to continually innovate is widely recognized as one of the core capabilities for technology-based SME. Although the companies see the importance of innovation (product/service, process, business model) they often struggle to tap into market opportunities, new trends and emerging technologies. One reason could be the innovation set up and behavior of SMEs. This paper identified in the literature innovation building blocks to help understand crucial innovation behavior. These building blocks were then test in a survey, to which 57 manufacturing and technology-based SMEs responded. The results indicate that there are tremendous opportunities for SMEs to strengthen their innovation capability in four different areas. These areas include the application of a more pro-active and strategic approach to innovation, a more formal approach for the innovation process, widening the innovation space through different types of innovation and the consideration of new cooperation partners. The results also show a way to a necessary adaptation of existing innovation models for SMEs.