Innovation in Traditional Food Networks

In an increasingly globalising market, innovation is an important strategic tool for micro, small,and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to achieve competitive advantage (Avermaete et al.,2004a; Gellynck et al., 2007; Murphy, 2002). Innovation can be defined as an ongoing processof learning, searching and exploring resulting in new products, new techniques, new forms oforganization and new markets (Lundvall, 1995). Innovation is a continuous process characterisedby three steps: efforts, activities and results. Efforts are all resources, such as human andfinancial resources, a firm is investing in activities for the development of innovations. Resultsare the effects of these innovation activities on tangible (e.g. growth of market share, profit) aswell as less tangible aspects (e.g. firm stability, efficiency) (Gellynck et al., 2006). Consequently,the measurement of innovation competences captures also the progress in developing an innovationand not only the result, such as the successful implementation of innovation (Gellyncket al., 2007).