Learning and innovation in food SMEs : network composition and management

Innovation is often considered as the main gateway to competitiveness. While it was traditionally regarded as the result of the firms’ isolated efforts, it is progressively seen as a cooperative phenomenon. Firms, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), develop external relationships and participate in networks in order to access to additional resources that can help them to enhance their innovation performance. A rich collection of books and scientific articles have been dedicated to the investigation of the relation between networks and innovation. Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that further research is required to understand how networks are built and operated in order to facilitate learning and innovation. In this regard, the overall objective of this PhD dissertation is to investigate the impact of a series of factors related to network composition and management (i.e. type of network members, innovation broker, formal coordination mechanisms, and social capital) on the success of networks for learning and innovation in food SMEs. The main findings of this research are: (i) network partners are to be selected in consideration of the type of innovation to be developed and in accordance with the characteristics of the ‘recipient firm’; (ii) shared cognition between network actors is crucial for the success of networks and can be enhanced through increased social interactions between network actors and through the actions of a competent innovation broker; (iii) the impact of formal coordination mechanisms on the success of networks is likely to be context dependent.