OUTSOURCING OF R&D AND INNOVATION ACTIVITIES IN SMEs: EVIDENCE FROM SLOVENIA

This paper examines the outsourcing of research and development and of innovation activities in small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). As the results of these activities enable companies to achieve and sustain competitive advantage, it is crucial to manage them properly. As SMEs generally lack in...

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Main Authors: Barbara Bradač Hojnik, Miroslav Rebernik
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Faculty of Economics, University of Tuzla 2012-11-01
Series:Economic Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.er.ef.untz.ba/index.php/er/article/view/167
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author Barbara Bradač Hojnik
Miroslav Rebernik
author_facet Barbara Bradač Hojnik
Miroslav Rebernik
author_sort Barbara Bradač Hojnik
collection DOAJ
description This paper examines the outsourcing of research and development and of innovation activities in small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). As the results of these activities enable companies to achieve and sustain competitive advantage, it is crucial to manage them properly. As SMEs generally lack internal resources to perform R&D and innovation activities internally, is the outsourcing of these activities a viable solution for them? This paper examines the basic characteristics of outsourcing R&D and innovation activities in SMEs, based on a survey among Slovenian companies in the manufacturing and service industries. We tested five hypotheses. Empirical results show that one third of SMEs outsource R&D and innovation activities in different forms, and that small companies outsource these activities more often. The biggest share of SMEs partially outsources R&D and innovation activities, followed by SMEs that outsource all those activities, and by SMEs that perform R&D and innovate in co-operation with other firms. When comparing the type of R&D and innovation activities that are outsourced, the results show that SMEs mainly outsource experimental development, followed by basic research and applied research. However, they mostly outsource R&D and innovation activities to universities and independent research organisations and only occasionally to private organisations from industry and individual researchers.
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publishDate 2012-11-01
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spelling doaj-art-1dc35f21fcde490c9a517e3f4795cc642025-02-11T00:33:24ZengFaculty of Economics, University of TuzlaEconomic Review1512-89622303-680X2012-11-01102OUTSOURCING OF R&D AND INNOVATION ACTIVITIES IN SMEs: EVIDENCE FROM SLOVENIABarbara Bradač Hojnik0Miroslav Rebernik1University of Maribor, Faculty of Economics and Business University of Maribor, Faculty of Economics and Business This paper examines the outsourcing of research and development and of innovation activities in small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). As the results of these activities enable companies to achieve and sustain competitive advantage, it is crucial to manage them properly. As SMEs generally lack internal resources to perform R&D and innovation activities internally, is the outsourcing of these activities a viable solution for them? This paper examines the basic characteristics of outsourcing R&D and innovation activities in SMEs, based on a survey among Slovenian companies in the manufacturing and service industries. We tested five hypotheses. Empirical results show that one third of SMEs outsource R&D and innovation activities in different forms, and that small companies outsource these activities more often. The biggest share of SMEs partially outsources R&D and innovation activities, followed by SMEs that outsource all those activities, and by SMEs that perform R&D and innovate in co-operation with other firms. When comparing the type of R&D and innovation activities that are outsourced, the results show that SMEs mainly outsource experimental development, followed by basic research and applied research. However, they mostly outsource R&D and innovation activities to universities and independent research organisations and only occasionally to private organisations from industry and individual researchers. https://www.er.ef.untz.ba/index.php/er/article/view/167outsourcingresearch and developmentSMEs
spellingShingle Barbara Bradač Hojnik
Miroslav Rebernik
OUTSOURCING OF R&D AND INNOVATION ACTIVITIES IN SMEs: EVIDENCE FROM SLOVENIA
Economic Review
outsourcing
research and development
SMEs
title OUTSOURCING OF R&D AND INNOVATION ACTIVITIES IN SMEs: EVIDENCE FROM SLOVENIA
title_full OUTSOURCING OF R&D AND INNOVATION ACTIVITIES IN SMEs: EVIDENCE FROM SLOVENIA
title_fullStr OUTSOURCING OF R&D AND INNOVATION ACTIVITIES IN SMEs: EVIDENCE FROM SLOVENIA
title_full_unstemmed OUTSOURCING OF R&D AND INNOVATION ACTIVITIES IN SMEs: EVIDENCE FROM SLOVENIA
title_short OUTSOURCING OF R&D AND INNOVATION ACTIVITIES IN SMEs: EVIDENCE FROM SLOVENIA
title_sort outsourcing of r d and innovation activities in smes evidence from slovenia
topic outsourcing
research and development
SMEs
url https://www.er.ef.untz.ba/index.php/er/article/view/167
work_keys_str_mv AT barbarabradachojnik outsourcingofrdandinnovationactivitiesinsmesevidencefromslovenia
AT miroslavrebernik outsourcingofrdandinnovationactivitiesinsmesevidencefromslovenia