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- How do small firms from European rural regions learn and innovate?Publication . Cesário, M.; Noronha, Teresa deContrarily to big firms, small firms interact intensively with the territory in which they located, as a signal of their embeddedness. The particular tight links they develop with their external environment reduce uncertainty risks. In general, for them, geographical and sociological proximities constitute the main sources of assets and information determining their perspectives and strategic choices. The present study uses a set of enquires, developed within the framework of a European research project, with the purpose of modelling the determinants of innovation in a bi-univocal relationship of interdependencies between small firms and their environmental contexts. We dealt mainly with lagging regions and a panel of 323 firms from the agro-food sector, located in 11 different European rural regions from six different countries. Using a set of variables able to characterise the innovative processes and through the application of k-mean clusters statistical analysis, it was possible to detect behavioural patterns towards innovation among those firms. Non-innovators, pioneer innovators and follower innovators were the identified patterns. Using cross tabs analysis between those patterns and a set of attributes dealing with the importance of human capital, the profile of each group were drawn.
- Learning in small firms across European rural regions, in PanagopoulosPublication . Cesário, M.; Noronha, Teresa deSmall medium enterprises (SMEs) interact intensely with the territory in which they locate. Is it possible to awake the need for innovation in SMEs and use them as incubators for local development? If so, how do firms behave when they are innovative? Which determinants have a more effective impact on the innovative choices of small firms? The present empirical analyses uses a set of enquires developed within the frame work of an European research project whose main goal was to model the determinants of innovation in a biunivocal relationship of interdependencies between small firms and their environmental contexts. We dealt mainly with lagging regions and the questionnaires were used in 323 firms located in 12 different European rural regions of six countries. The quantitative approach used demonstrated the level of proximity between innovation and firms choices related to factors like: formation of the leadership, or labour skills, coordinationa with suppliers and clients, realtionships with research institutions, external connections.
- Interaction between innovation in small firms and their environments: an exploratory studyPublication . Noronha, Teresa de; Cesário, M.; Fernandes, Silvia BritoSmall food firms make up an important sector in the European economy and are particularly significant in rural areas where they are potential sources of employment and growth. Despite this, their behaviour as regards innovation has been relatively little studied to date. This exploratory investigation finds different types of innovative behaviours among small agro-food firms in peripheral regions and identifies some of the factors with which they are associated. The research reported here is based on a sample of 323 small and very small food and drink (hereafter “food”) firms drawn from 11 regions in six European countries. The food industry is generally regarded as a mature, low-technology industry, but this study identifies different clusters of small food firms according to innovative behaviours. It finds that, although a substantial number of firms may be defined as non-innovators, by far the largest cluster of food firms is involved in multiple forms of innovative activity. Recent studies have demonstrated the complexity of the determinants of technological progress. This may be modelled as a learning process in which small innovative firms tend to draw on internal and external sources of expertise and are both influenced by and influence the broader socio-economic environment in which they operate. This study uses cluster analyses to identify four types of innovative behaviours and examines the factors influencing these. It takes first steps to incorporate both measures of innovative capacity at the firm level as well as of the local development environment in order to explore links between the innovative capacity of small food firms and the characteristics of their regional contexts.
- As novas fronteiras da Política Regional: o caso das zonas portuguesas desfavorecidasPublication . Noronha, Teresa de; Cesário, M.; Fernandes, Silvia BritoO trabalho discute os fundamentos das recentes formas de interacção empresarial para a inovação. Sustenta que tais formas devem ser consideradas na preparação de políticas de apoio ao desenvolvimento das regiões menos favorecidas, ressaltando a importância da descentralização da decisão e da aprendizagem nesse processo. Referimo-nos à necessidade de integrar o conceito de inovação no de política regional. Apontamos os instrumentos fundamentais para que tenha lugar a coordenação de estratégias e a interface com as diferentes organizações de aprendizagem. Com base numa observação sobre o que tem sido a política regional em Portugal, avaliamos os efeitos recentes da política regional e da política nacional de inovação no país, cruzando dados estatísticos a partir de 1988 pelas cinco regiões portuguesas. Finalmente, apresentamos uma apreciação do esforço de investimento das regiões para o seu desenvolvimento e apontamos alguns factores inerentes às modernas dinâmicas da inovação necessários para uma maior eficácia da actual política regional.