Innovativeness among small businesses: Theory and propositions for future research

Small businesses represent the lifeblood of the economy. Variations in the innovativeness of these firms may help explain why some succeed, but many fail [Frambach, R. T. (1993). An integrated model of organizational adoption and diffusion of innovations. European Journal of Marketing, 25(5), 22-41; Nord, W. R. & Tucker, S. (1987). Implementing routine and radical innovations. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.]. To understand how small businesses develop and use innovations, a series of depth interviews were conducted with small, family-owned firms in the US and Spain. Results suggest several factors affect innovativeness, including industry-specific, firm-specific, and innovation-specific factors. The study ends with a series of propositions, potential managerial implications of the study, and suggestions for further research.