Designing Public Policies to Support SME Innovation Capacity: Proposal of an Approach based on Innovativeness Profiles

Abstract

It is crucial for enterprises to follow sustainable and competitive growth strategies to survive in the global market. Companies which cannot produce adequate levels of innovation outputs are likely to lose their competitiveness. Small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) which constitute a large part of enterprises face more diverse set of obstacles than larger enterprises. Thus, in many countries public policies that encourage innovation are encountered. In this study, an approach is proposed to design public policies based on innovation profiles of SMEs. The approach would lead to different strategic roadmaps and public support tools designed for SMEs with different innovative profiles. That would increase the contribution of SMEs to the country's overall technological development process and international competitiveness.