Measuring and evaluating innovation management in small and medium enterprises: proposition of a multicriteria model for selecting indicators and metrics

摘要

The objective of this work is to propose a model for measuring and evaluating the innovation management maturity in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), based on specific indicators and metrics (at the firm-level) established with the support of multicriteria decision-making methods, which are combined to monitoring and evaluation tools and to quality management concepts and frameworks. Based on the results of the bibliographical review and documentary analysis on the central themes of this research, a model was developed to measure and evaluate the innovation management in SMEs, seeking to fill gaps identified in the specialized literature. The conceptual model and the logical framework for the definition of indicators and metrics include four dimensions: (i) organization and management; (ii) people management towards innovation; (iii) process management for innovation; and (iv) results and impacts of innovation management. The applicability of the model could be demonstrated through an empirical study focusing on an SME that participated in the Innovation Management Support Program for SMEs at PUC-Rio. The main contributions of the research are a model for monitoring and evaluation of the innovation management by SMEs, which considers the specificities of these firms and their socio-productive contexts and a set of composite indicators associated with the four dimensions of innovation management contemplated in the proposed model.