Why do only some SMEs achieve external support for better innovation performance: empirical evidence from Bangalore, India

M.H. Bala Subrahmanya 기술경영경제학회 2013 ASIAN JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION Vol.21 No.1

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) share unique characteristics of innovation and aresimultaneously bounded by resource constraints. This study probes the role of internalfactors in SMEs to obtain external support from government-promoted SME agencies, largeenterprises, R&D institutes, universities, and other SMEs to achieve better innovationperformance in the context of autocomponent, electronics, and machine tool industries inBangalore in India. Using a stepwise logistic regression analysis, this study found thatSMEs could obtain external support if they have internal technical competence (in terms ofa technically qualified entrepreneur, an exclusive design centre, and frequent product orproduct & process innovation). The use of stepwise multiple regression showed that SMEsare able to exhibit superior innovation performance if they implement innovative ideas (orexploit market opportunities) and obtain external support with technically qualifiedentrepreneurs. Therefore, policy support to enhance the firm-level technical competence ofSMEs and strengthen the external support infrastructure for SMEs would be beneficial.

External Technology Acquisition of SMEs in the Machinery Industry of Bangalore

Subrahmanya, M.H. Bala,Hussain, Zeeshan,Chand M., Ashwin Asian Society for Innovation and Policy 2014 Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy Vol.3 No.1

This paper is an attempt to understand the external technology acquisition (ETA) process of the machinery SME sector in Bangalore city, India. With the onset of economic liberalization, Bangalore based machinery SMEs have significantly shifted their ETAs from India to abroad, particularly Germany and Japan, among others. The primary objective of ETAs is to enhance their competitiveness by means of improving product quality and productivity as well as meeting customer demand. Replacing outdated machinery or overcoming technological obsolescence is a primary objective of only a few. As a result, majority of the SMEs has gone for multiple ETAs since their inception and we found a statistically significant positive correlation between firm age and number of ETAs. The present study has made two empirical contributions: (i) We have thrown light on the core technology up-gradation issue - How do SMEs approach the problem of external technology acquisition in the current globalization era? (ii) We are able to identify and develop a map of ETA process based on the "learning and experiences" of these SMEs.

External Technology Acquisition of SMEs in the Machinery Industry of Bangalore

M.H. Bala Subrahmanya,Zeeshan Hussain, Ashwin Chand M. 아시아기술혁신학회 2014 Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy Vol.3 No.1

This paper is an attempt to understand the external technology acquisition (ETA) process of the machinery SME sector in Bangalore city, India. With the onset of economic liberalization, Bangalore based machinery SMEs have significantly shifted their ETAs from India to abroad, particularly Germany and Japan, among others. The primary objective of ETAs is to enhance their competitiveness by means of improving product quality and productivity as well as meeting customer demand. Replacing outdated machinery or overcoming technological obsolescence is a primary objective of only a few. As a result, majority of the SMEs has gone for multiple ETAs since their inception and we found a statistically significant positive correlation between firm age and number of ETAs. The present study has made two empirical contributions: (i) We have thrown light on the core technology up-gradation issue - How do SMEs approach the problem of external technology acquisition in the current globalization era? (ii) We are able to identify and develop a map of ETA process based on the "learning and experiences" of these SMEs.

Editorial: Innovation in India: Micro Dimensions

M.H. Bala Subrahmanya 아시아기술혁신학회 2015 Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy Vol.4 No.2

New Venture Incubation Framework: An Indian Academic Model

M.H. Bala Subrahmanya,Arun Kumar Gopalaswamy 아시아기술혁신학회 2018 Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy Vol.7 No.3

Institution-based Technology Business Incubators are on the rise in India, as a means of promoting innovation-based tech start-up ecosystems, due to increased policy initiatives. Against this background, we have traced the origin and process of building a start-up ecosystem in IIT Madras, Chennai of India, based on semi-structured interviews held with the stakeholders of the ecosystem. Subsequently, we have ascertained the key components of IIT Madras start-up ecosystem, and the process of incubation comprising pre-incubation, incubation and post-incubation phases. Finally, we have derived the key lessons from the ecosystem development experience and incubation process which enable generation of start-ups from both students and faculty, apart from alumni and ex-industry executives. Though this ecosystem model has emerged over a period of time through learning and experience, the ecosystem is able to generate more than 100 start-ups, majority of them being from students and faculty. Thus, the evolved start-up ecosystem of IIT Madras is able to generate faculty-supported and student-led entrepreneurship successfully.

Network Cooperation, Innovation, Internationalization and Economic Performance of SMEs: An Exploratory Study

Rashmeet Singh,M.H. Bala Subrahmanya 아시아기술혁신학회 2018 Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy Vol.7 No.3

This paper explores the relationship between network cooperation, innovation, internationalization and economic performance of manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of engineering goods industry located in Bangalore city, India. At the outset, it is observed that SMEs receive the maximum assistance in the realm of product specifications. Moreover, they do not resort to manufacturing new products as much as they resort to product modifications or process improvements. Further, it is found (using Chi-square test of independence) that higher the network assistance received from an external network, greater is the innovation performance of SMEs. Subsequently, using analysis of variance (ANOVA), export intensity (proxy for internationalization performance) of SMEs is found to have a significant positive association with both the degree of their network cooperation and of their innovation performance. Lastly, it is observed that higher the degree of each of network cooperation, innovation performance and internationalization performance, better is the economic performance (measured by total sales turnover) of SMEs. These results have significant implications for the policy makers of the country to give due attention to network cooperation, innovation and internationalization as the means of enhancing the economic performance of SMEs.

Technological Innovation Induced Growth of Engineering Industry SMEs: Case Studies in Bangalore

K N Krishnaswamy,M.H. Bala Subrahmanya,M Mathirajan 아시아기술혁신학회 2015 Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy Vol.4 No.2

This paper, based on two engineering industry SME case studies, traces the origin and process of technological innovations enabling the development and introduction of new products leading to market expansion and enterprise growth. The study throws light on how entrepreneurs played a decisive role in recognizing market opportunities, building up crucial in-house technological capability, supplementing it with appropriate external assistance, to carry out technological innovations. A constant interaction with its customers is in-built into the system. As a result, the SMEs could achieve successful product innovations leading to their gradual growth, over time. Finally, based on the observations and inferences derived out of the two cases, a theoretical construct of the growth of innovation in SMEs is postulated. This is done linking the three stages of their development: (i) start-up and stabilizing, (ii) building up technological capability and implementing innovations; and (iii) opening up of new markets resulting in firm growth.