The characteristics of the innovating firm.

Abstract

Industrial innovation, particularly that which involves technological change, has been a significant factor in the growth of advanced economics as well as being a major objective for market success for many individual companies. In the first chapter these effects of innovation are assessed and existing knowledge about the process of innovation is reviewed. The purpose of this research is explained in Chapter 2. as seeking to identify the salient characteristics of firms which are highly innovative, as opposed to later- innovating companies. Differences which might be expected are hypothesised, on the basis of previous, related studies in a variety of academic disciplines, in the Third Chapter. A methodology for testing these hypotheses is developed in Chapter 4. and the basis and conduct of the empirical research is outlined. Innovation in the two industries from which a selective sample of early and late innovating firms was drawn is examined in the following Chapter before presenting an extensive comparison and analysis of the results of the Case Studies (which are included in the Appendices) in Chapter 6. Finally, the implications of this new data for both the theory and practice off innovation are discussed in Chapter 7.

Date of Award	1979
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath