중소기업의 기술혁신역량과 혁신성과의 관계: 성장단계별 차이

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) endeavor to overcome the adverse resource conditions and secure competitive advantage through technological innovation capability. Prior studies have focused on the overall or specific dimensions of technological innovation capability, and examined their performance impact. However, there has been less scholarly attention on the dynamic characteristics such as the relative importance of technological innovation capability or its performance impact at the different growth stages of a firm. In this vein, this study investigates the relationship between SME innovation capability and innovation performance at each growth stages of a firm. Based on the empirical analysis of manufacturing SMEs in Korea, we found that all dimensions of technological innovation capability had positive effects on innovation performance. However, each dimension of technological innovation capability had different effect on innovation performance by the growth stages. The planning capability can improve innovation performance at the growth and maturity stages. Manufacturing capability can have positive effect on innovation performance at the maturity stage. Both of new product development capability and commercialization capability contribute to innovation performance at all of the growth stages. This study suggests the guidelines for enhancing technological innovation capability at the different growth stages of SMEs. It also provides policy implications for the design and operation of growth-stage specific programs. Finally, the limitations of the research and future research directions are presented.