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The relationship between types of innovation and SMEs’ performance: a multi-dimensional empirical assessment

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Abstract

This paper examines the impact of different types of innovation on the business performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using a multi-dimensional analytical approach. Based on a wide sample of Spanish SMEs, our results highlight the existence of positive impacts of innovation on financial and operational dimensions of business performance, and the significant differences in these impacts depending on the type of innovation and the performance indicator considered. Our findings are relevant for managers and innovation decision-makers when designing innovation strategies to foster the business performance of SMEs. Additionally, the multi-faceted nature of the link between innovation and business outcomes in SMEs reveals that making the right innovation decision is crucial in securing the desired performance outcomes in a context of limited resources for innovation.

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Acknowledgements

The results of this study were presented in the 25th EBES Conference (23–25th May 2018 in Berlin, Germany). Authors acknowledge the comments received, which contributed to improve this manuscript. This research work has received funding from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (project ECO2014-55745-R), Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2009/068) and Junta de Andalucía (project P09-SEJ-4857).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain

    Alfonso Expósito

  2. Universidad de Valencia and ERICES, Valencia, Spain

    Juan A. Sanchis-Llopis

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  1. Alfonso Expósito
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Correspondence to Alfonso Expósito.

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Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 5 and 6.

Table 5 Definition of the variables
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Table 6 Descriptive statistics
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Expósito, A., Sanchis-Llopis, J.A. The relationship between types of innovation and SMEs’ performance: a multi-dimensional empirical assessment. Eurasian Bus Rev 9, 115–135 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40821-018-00116-3

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