Innovation and Export

Manon Enjolras is Assistant Professor at the ERPI laboratory (Université de Lorraine, France). She works on metrology of innovation processes and the application of multi-criteria analysis methodologies for the design of decision support tools for enterprises.

• Acknowledgments ixIntroduction xiPart 1 The Relationship between Innovation and Export in SMEs 1Chapter 1 The Innovation–Export Relationship: A Complex Vision 31.1 The innovation–export link: a controversial debate 41.1.1 In the industrial world: a compartmentalized vision 41.1.2 In the academic world: a causalist vision questioned 81.2 Towards a paradigm shift 161.2.1 Moving from analytical thinking to complex thinking 161.2.2 Theoretical framework: articulation of mobilized theories 211.2.3 The application of the complexity paradigm to SME innovation and export activities 30Chapter 2 Joint Innovation–Export Best Practices 372.1 The construction of a theoretical frame of reference 372.1.1. Identifying innovation practices: the potential innovation index (PII) 382.1.2 Identification of export practices 412.1.3 Towards a joint reference system 442.2 What about the field? 552.2.1 Presentation of the consulted companies and method 572.2.2 Highlighting synergies 592.2.3 Discussions 65Part 2 PE2I, or How to Model Synergies 67Chapter 3 Design of a Joint Diagnosis Dedicated to SMEs: The PE2I 693.1 The methodological framework 693.1.1 The methodological background 703.1.2 The methodological tools used 723.1.3 PII and PEI as a basis for development 743.2 The construction of the PE2I 783.2.1 Step 1: create a maturity profile 783.2.2 Step 2: weighting and characterization of the evaluation model using multi-criteria analysis tools 803.2.3 Step 3: identify customized improvement paths 84Chapter 4. Implementation of the PE2I: Test with French SMEs .. 874.1 Experimental panel and methodology 874.1.1 Presentation of the panel 884.1.2 The conduct of the interviews 894.2 Presentation of results and observations 914.2.1 Case 1: company 1 914.2.2 Case 2: company 2 964.2.3 Case 3: company 3 994.2.4 Case 4: company 4 1034.2.5 Case 5: company 5 1064.2.6 Case 6: company 6 1104.3 Assessment 113Chapter 5 Feedback on the PE2I Tool 1155.1 The advantages and limitations of the PE2I tool 1155.1.1 A customizable pedagogical representation tool 1155.1.2 Operational difficulties 1175.2 Prospects for improvement 1205.2.1 Operationalizing the evaluation: reconciling the constraints of the field 1215.2.2 Contextualization of the recommendation system: taking into account differentiating factors 1235.2.3 Proposing evidence-based recommendations: an operational action plan to promote synergies 126Conclusion 129References 141