dissertation in pdf-format - Aalto-yliopisto

Developing innovation support services 407
and networking seems to have had only a minor effect on their business. This might be
explained by the finding that small firms are engaged in innovation networks less often
than larger firms, and if they have innovation partnerships they are primarily with
business partners. Since relationships involving science and technology transfer are rare,
SMEs make only limited use of the full potential of their respective regional innovation
systems.
It should be noted that this perspective of innovation is rather limited in the context of
small businesses. Small firms consistently refer to the general pervasiveness of poor
management and marketing or skills development as constraints on innovation (Adams,
1982; Moore, 1995). In addition, behavioural school theorists regard innovation as
essentially involving ‘controlled chaos’ (Quinn, 1985) and innovation processes as
non-linear cycles of divergent and convergent activities that may be reiterated over time,
and at different organisational levels, if resources are obtained to renew the cycle (Van de
Ven et al., 1999).
This section presents results of the case study that are potentially useful for
government and university officials, economic development centres and other providers
of innovation support services. The case firms were found to use the following categories
of innovation support services:
1 market-related services
2 finance-related services
3 technology-related services
4 internationalisation-related services.
Each of these categories is discussed in detail below. Market-related services are quite
often used by the case firms. Building distribution and retail networks seems to be a
critical process during commercialisation. The distributors play a vital role, because they
are often responsible for selling products and services to end-users. This requires, inter
alia, inter-organisational collaboration based on the formation of trust-based relationships
among the firms. Market-related services used by the case firms are provided and financed
by the market research institution, Finpro, Tekes (the Finnish funding agency for
technology and innovation) and the local technology centre (Technopolis Ventures
Kuopio Ltd). The most frequently used services are global market research, services
facilitating searches new customers, distributors and resellers. In addition, case firms
have used assistance in negotiations to reach commercial agreements (e.g., contractual
arrangements) and assistance with initiating marketing efforts with other T-KIBS firms,
organised for instance by the local technology centre. Previous studies (e.g., Heydebreck
et al., 2000), have highlighted the importance of internationalisation-related services in
commercialisation processes.
Finance-related services were used primarily to obtain assistance with the financing
of innovation projects organised by public and private organisations. Among the case
firms, external financing was mostly obtained from public sponsors. In addition, direct
financial support instruments, such as subordinated loans and export credit guarantees
were used. The results show that internal financing was mentioned as a primary source of
financing of the case firms. Venture capitalists have had a positive impact on the
commercialisation process in some cases, and financial support and experience provided
by venture capitalists and business angels have also been used by some firms. However,