Barriers to Innovation in Home Country: Can Internationalization of R&D Mitigate their Effects?

Technological advancements, especially in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have enhanced greatly the competition already spurred by the globalization of world economies. Even small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are no more immune to the challenges that the globalization brings about. Innovative ideas and products are becoming increasingly important to counter the price-oriented competition on home turf and abroad from low-cost producers acting globally and leveraging production facilities in emerging economies. The innovation capacity of many firms is however hampered by a number of barriers to innovation, e.g. resource constraints. They hinder the firm’s capacity to invent and successfully commercialize new products, services or processes.