Acceso usuarios
Measuring innovation processes is a major concern for academics and firm managers. This study proposes an innovation capacity (IC) measure framework based on a set of 15 innovation management practices. Every practice is subdivided into multiple criteria which are directly observable phenomena or facts. The statistical method of value test and a multi-criteria approach are adopted to propose a typology of four groups of innovative firms (proactive, preactive, reactive, passive). The features observed on these groups of firms allow the determination of the firms� innovation capacity and are useful for providing recommendations and practical actions for them, with a view to reinforcing it. Data from a sample group of 39 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing industry in Lorraine, France were collected via a field survey and were fed into the model to determine the innovation capacity of the companies.
