An Analysis of Innovation Management in Irish Medical Device SMEs

Abstract

This paper focuses on innovation management practices in the Irish medical devices industry. We analyse key determinants to assess the nature and level of innovation management practices relative to published literature in ten small medical device organisations. A two staged research method was employed. First a structured survey was conducted to empirically assess the level of management in the participating organisations. Qualitative interviews were then employed to elicit deeper insights and experiences. The research found that managing innovation was not a priority in the organisations surveyed, failure tolerance was low and SMEs encountered issues with intellectual property rights when dealing with research institutes. This paper thus addresses a gap in the literature as it articulates the relationship between prescribed best practice and implementation in a specific context. It also provides a series of recommendations to managers that can guide performance improvement.