Innovation of Micro and Small Enterprises: Measuring the Degree of Innovation of Companies Participating in the Local Innovation Agents Project

The objective of this study was to measure the degree of innovation of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in the state of Sergipe. For this purpose, we conducted a survey of 1,260 MSEs that participate in the Local Innovation Agents Project of SEBRAE (Brazilian Service to Support Micro and Small Enterprises) in Sergipe, among firms in the food, civil construction, lumber and furniture, health, and textile and apparel sectors. The tool used to measure innovation was the innovation radar, developed by Sawhney, Wolcott & Arroniz (2006), which uses 12 dimensions: offerings, platform, customers, solutions, relationship, value capture, processes, organization, supply chain, presence, networking and brand. This tool was complemented by the innovation ambience dimension of Bachmann & Destefani (2008), because an organizational climate propitious to innovation is a prerequisite in companies. Among the results were that the average degree of innovation of the MSEs in Sergipe was 2.01, which indicates still incipient innovation in the sample of firms analyzed.