Managing innovation practices of SMEs in the Caribbean: An exploratory study

Abstract

Increasing global competitiveness emphasises the need for the Caribbean to develop its research and innovation capabilities. The small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector is the mechanism that creates value from such research and innovation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the structure of the SME sector in terms of its growth over the last ten years, their contribution to the national gross domestic product (GDP), their employment capacity and the range of industrial activities they are involved in. This paper also investigates the current innovation practices relating to innovation planning within organisations, innovation sources and innovation trends such as incremental versus radical innovation in the Caribbean. By networking with research personnel and government agencies in selected Caribbean countries, statistical data on SMEs was solicited and collated. In addition, empirical data was acquired from industry practitioners via a survey on innovation. Due to the wide spread of the Caribbean islands along the Caribbean Sea, it was only possible to gather data from some of the islands. Using a comparative overlay of the SME statistics with the empirical innovation data, gaps and opportunities between innovation activities and SMEs were identified. Policy makers and entrepreneurs can benefit from the findings of this paper as it serves to streamline the SME activities with the research and innovation efforts in order to effectively manage resources and derive maximum benefit for Caribbean economies. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge on innovation in the Caribbean region by providing empirical evidence to support the innovation practices of SMEs.