Design Innovation's Dr Peter Robbins' latest academic publication appears this week in The Irish Journal of Management (vol 35, No 1 ISSN 1649-348X). In fact, Dr Robbins has two pieces in this edition but the second is a book review.
The main article (Innovation Processes; Do they help or hinder New Product Development Outcomes in Irish SMEs) is written in collaboration with Prof Colm O'Gorman of DCU. Colm is one of Ireland's foremost researchers in entrepreneurship and Peter is an acknowledged expert in innovation and how organisations manage and facilitate innovation. This study involves a quantitative survey of several hundred firms in Ireland, using the Irish Innovation Index and it assesses whether having structures and processes in place for innovation really makes a difference in the success firms enjoy.
Innovation is notoriously difficult; it's risky; it's uncertain; it takes a long time to come to fruition and the odds of success are low. And, yet, it is the lifeblood of business and so articles like this one are of significance for owners and managers of SMEs. The article can be accessed through Maynooth University Library using the Business Source Complete database.