Tihana Koprivnjak Popovic
Abstract:
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) gain a competitive advantage through continuous innovation, which is crucial for their competitiveness on the market and their internationalization. By offering more valuable goods and services than their competitors, SMEs can thrive despite their different starting position compared to large companies. The dynamic competitive environment and changing customer preferences require constant innovation in products and services. This innovation is essential for long-term sustainability, growth and international competitiveness. Research shows that innovative SMEs are more successful in international markets. Innovation and internationalization are complementary processes that drive the growth and development of a company. Access to foreign resources, knowledge and capital increases competitiveness and mitigates weaknesses. The study uses qualitative research, including in-depth interviews with Croatian manufacturing SMEs, to investigate the role of innovation in internationalization. The results confirm that innovation is a key driver of competitiveness and successful market entry.
Tenth International Scientific-Business Conference LIMEN Leadership, Innovation, Management and Economics: Integrated Politics of Research - LIMEN 2024 - International Scientific-Business Conference β LIMEN 2024: Vol 10. Conference Proceedings , December 5, 2024
Conference Proceedings published by: Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans, Belgrade, Serbia
ISBN: 9788680194929 , ISSN: 26836149 , DOI: 10.31410/LIMEN.2024
Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission.
