Title: Innovation and the micro-enterprise

Authors: Barbara Simpson

Addresses: Department of Management and Employment Relations, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract: Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have increasingly been placed under the scholarly microscope, particularly with respect to their capacity for innovation. But how small is small? This paper is concerned with micro-enterprises (those employing fewer than 20 people) which, although they exist in tremendous numbers worldwide, remain largely unexplored by organisational scholars. Using New Zealand micro-enterprises as an illustration, this paper advocates a cognitive approach to developing a greater understanding of innovation in this important class of organisations.

Keywords: micro-enterprises; innovation; communication; organisational cognition; cognitive mapping; New Zealand.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTM.2001.001610

International Journal of Services Technology and Management, 2001 Vol.2 No.3/4, pp.377-387

Published online: 10 Jul 2003 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article