Competitive intelligence and absorptive capacity for enhancing innovation performance of SMEs

Abstract

In dynamic and complex environments, it can be difficult for small and mediumsizedenterprises (SMEs) to achieve business performance, innovate and survive, even thoughthese actions are crucial for economic growth and competitiveness. Competitive intelligence (CI)appears as a strategic practice to help them. Although there are many theoretical studies thatpropose the relationship between CI and innovation, few studies have conducted empiricalstudies in the context of SMEs. The objective of this paper is to investigate how competitiveintelligence enhances innovation performance in the context of a SME. Based on a literaturereview and empirical data from several interviews with managers of one SME, our findingsallowed us to propose a framework showing the contribution of CI to innovation performancerelying on absorptive capacity. Our findings also highlight that a prospector owner-managercan improve the results of CI in the SME and contribute to better innovation performance.