| Abstract |
Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE) are considered the most dynamic and flexible arrangement of activity. In the economy, the foundation and development of these features is important for the creation of the so-called "normal" economic environment. In the recent past it was enough for companies to meet their needs in a profitable way to stay in the market, but that scenario has changed dramatically. Currently, it is necessary to be one step ahead towards the future, because the strategies that have worked well in the past are not guarantees of forthcoming sustainable success. The key to longevity and business competitiveness lies in innovation. Accordingly, the main objective of this research is to present a research model of innovation in Micro and Small Enterprises to analyse: first, the degree of innovation of Micro and Small Enterprises, and second, how the innovation is handled by existing Micro and Small Enterprises as a result of its business environment. The research made is based on a sample of 550 MSE distributed over 6 cities across the Brazilian State of Piaui. The data was collected using the Innovation Radar application, which is owned by the SEBRAE Local Innovation Agents program. Statistical techniques of descriptive, exploratory and inferential nature were used for corresponding data treatment and results validation. The results obtained suggest that MSE have innovation capacity between the "Little Innovative" and "Occasional Innovative" range, and also that the average and the distribution of innovation levels are similar amongst MSE analyzed. |
