Success in the global knowledge economy requires continuous innovation. Innovation which is associated with economic growth, employment and prosperity in society has become one of the fastest growing research fields in the management area. The capability to innovate is among the most important factors that will help a firm to achieve and sustain its competitive advantage (Hult et al., 2004).
Literature in innovation confirms that innovation has been perceived as an engine of economic growth, development and prosperity in society (Malik & Wei, 2011), and the drivers to innovation at the enterprise level have been subject to extensive debate and discussions. Nevertheless, two opposing views have been given particular attention; a market-based …show more content…
Radical product innovation has a clear departure from existing practices in the firm, which tends to require new mental models. Conversely, incremental product innovation displays a variation in existing routines and practices, relying on existing mental models. Moreover, radical innovation has the potential to reshape industry architecture1 (Gantumur & Stephan, 2011). Furthermore, incremental innovation has a clearer product concept statement than radical innovation. Finally, incremental innovations are more associated with a simpler feedback cycle than radical innovation during implementation of development tasks (Ming-Ji et al, …show more content…
(2013) were done in Europe and they were focusing specifically on manufacturing SMEs. The former did a survey of manufacturing SMEs innovativeness in West-Midlands London and the latter sought to answer the question “to what extent does a company’s innovativeness impact upon the success of its TQM practices?” also done on 1894 plants situated in Belgium, Italy, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The researcher did not come across a study in Kenya. Clearly there is need for a study to be done in Kenya to answer the question, “What factors influence the adoption of innovativeness in manufacturing firms in the Coast region of Kenya?”
1.3 Research Objective
The objective of this study is to find out the factors that influence the adoption of innovativeness in manufacturing firms in the Coast region of Kenya.
1.4 Value of the Study
The study will contribute to the academia by acting as a reference to future studies dealing with manufacturing firms not only in Kenya 's other regions, but also in Africa and the world at large.
The study will proof an asset to policy makers on identifying the salient factors that influence the adoption of innovativeness of manufacturing firms and formulate policies that will be in tandem with supporting innovativeness and competitiveness of those firms. This will help channel resources to the relevant sector of manufacturing which will lead to more employment opportunities thereby dealing
Literature in innovation confirms that innovation has been perceived as an engine of economic growth, development and prosperity in society (Malik & Wei, 2011), and the drivers to innovation at the enterprise level have been subject to extensive debate and discussions. Nevertheless, two opposing views have been given particular attention; a market-based …show more content…
Radical product innovation has a clear departure from existing practices in the firm, which tends to require new mental models. Conversely, incremental product innovation displays a variation in existing routines and practices, relying on existing mental models. Moreover, radical innovation has the potential to reshape industry architecture1 (Gantumur & Stephan, 2011). Furthermore, incremental innovation has a clearer product concept statement than radical innovation. Finally, incremental innovations are more associated with a simpler feedback cycle than radical innovation during implementation of development tasks (Ming-Ji et al, …show more content…
(2013) were done in Europe and they were focusing specifically on manufacturing SMEs. The former did a survey of manufacturing SMEs innovativeness in West-Midlands London and the latter sought to answer the question “to what extent does a company’s innovativeness impact upon the success of its TQM practices?” also done on 1894 plants situated in Belgium, Italy, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The researcher did not come across a study in Kenya. Clearly there is need for a study to be done in Kenya to answer the question, “What factors influence the adoption of innovativeness in manufacturing firms in the Coast region of Kenya?”
1.3 Research Objective
The objective of this study is to find out the factors that influence the adoption of innovativeness in manufacturing firms in the Coast region of Kenya.
1.4 Value of the Study
The study will contribute to the academia by acting as a reference to future studies dealing with manufacturing firms not only in Kenya 's other regions, but also in Africa and the world at large.
The study will proof an asset to policy makers on identifying the salient factors that influence the adoption of innovativeness of manufacturing firms and formulate policies that will be in tandem with supporting innovativeness and competitiveness of those firms. This will help channel resources to the relevant sector of manufacturing which will lead to more employment opportunities thereby dealing