Evaluating innovative processes in french firms: Methodologicalproposition for firm innovation capacity evaluation

tMeasuring innovation processes is a major concern for academics and firm managers. This study proposesan innovation capacity (IC) measure framework based on a set of 15 innovation management practices.Every practice is subdivided into multiple criteria which are directly observable phenomena or facts.The statistical method of value test and a multi-criteria approach are adopted to propose a typology offour groups of innovative firms (proactive, preactive, reactive, passive). The features observed on thesegroups of firms allow the determination of the firms' innovation capacity and are useful for providingrecommendations and practical actions for them, with a view to reinforcing it. Data from a sample groupof 39 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing industry in Lorraine, France werecollected via a field survey and were fed into the model to determine the innovation capacity of thecompanies.