Internetization Management as a Facilitator for Managing Innovation in High-Technology Smaller Firms

Abstract

Managing innovation in smaller firms imposes challenges of a specific nature. Such challenges include scarcity of resources for R&D and innovation activities, complexity of scientific fields, coordinating innovation activities with operational functions of the firm and availability of access to up-to-date scientific excellence. A question of importance should be raised as to how one can use the recent development in information and communication technologies (ICTs) to meet these challenges and to facilitate innovation activities in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially high-technology smaller firms (HTSFs), as these use innovation as their major competitive edge. In this conceptual article we propose using a newly introduced management paradigm, namely, internetization management to achieve the said. In the article we discuss the different challenges of innovation in HTSFs and how these challenges can be met by adopting the internetization management paradigm. The article sheds light on the need for a coupling between management and innovation studies in relation to SMEs while taking into consideration the e-globalized nature of the modern economy. It addresses in a more particular way HTSFs’ need for that coupling.