Barriers to Innovation in SMEs:Can the Internationalization of R&DMitigate Their Effects?

Technological advancements, especially in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)have enhanced greatly the competition spurred by the globalization of the world economies. Evensmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are no more immune to the challenges that theglobalization brings about. It is a remarkable, and in certain instances worrisome, situation sinceSMEs play a key-role in most economies, in that they constitute the largest business block andprovide the bulk of employment.However, opportunities presented by the globalization and the entwined, simultaneous pressure toinnovate opens for SMEs new arenas to engage in what we may call are “global innovation”activities so as to gain, retain, and further strengthen the competitive position. This pressure to gofor global innovation is enhanced by given socio-demographic factors, e.g. shortage of skilledlabour, in many industrialized countries.This paper presents the findings of a survey by the authors carried out in the Metropolitan Regionof Hamburg in Germany to identify barriers to innovation in...