Proximité et innovation : le territoire est-il un déterminant absolu pour les PME?

Abstract

The fierce and unpredictable competition that prevails in various economic spaces forces SMEs to be much more attentive to the needs of their customers and the reactions of their competitors, in order to defend or protect their market. They thus need to be innovative. Innovation is an activity that requires specific resources that are not always available to SMEs. However, they can rely on external resources to meet their needs. These may be within or outside their territory, depending on their level of wealth. Does this mean that SMEs located in less wealthy areas would have less potential for innovation than others? The study of data from a sample of Quebec SMEs, located in two distinct territories, shows that the innovation rates are similar, as opposed to ways to innovate. These results lead us to take into account the diversity of innovation types and intensities to understand what SMEs need to increase their potential to innovate.