THE PLACE OF INNOVATION LABS/HUBS, STARTUPS, SPINOFFS AND INCUBATION FOR SUCCESSFUL MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES. (Essay Sample)

INNOVATION STUDIES
THE PLACE OF INNOVATION LABS/HUBS, STARTUPS, SPINOFFS AND INCUBATION FOR SUCCESSFUL MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES.
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Report
Innovation is defined differently by different scholars for it is mostly activity based for instance; Schumpeter (1930) defined innovation as an introduction of a new product or modifications to the existing product that is brought about by a new process of innovation in the industry; developing new sources of supply with raw materials; changes to the organization or the discovery of a new market. Howard and Sheth (1969) also define innovation as any new element brought to the buyer, whether or not new to the organization. Other scholars such as Slevin (1991) and Knox (2002) define innovation as a process that provides added value and a degree of novelty to the organization, suppliers and customers, developing new procedures, solutions, products and services and new ways of marketing. Innovation also involves adoption of new or significantly improved elements to create added value to the organization directly or indirectly for its customers (Business Council Australia, 1993).
Innovation hubs or labs are work places, social communities or research centers which provide expertise and knowledge on technology trends, strategic innovation management and industry-specific insights. Hubs facilitate transfer of knowledge between researchers and business experts, on the one hand, and industry, government and representatives of academia, on the other hand. Thus the hubs provide a platform where decision makers can meet and brainstorm with scientists and business experts and discuss the challenges they face in business. An innovation startup is a newly emerged business venture that aims to develop a innovations through viable business models to meet a marketplace need or problem (Robehmed, 2013).
A spin-off is a form of open innovation where a company creates or develops new technology and sends it to the public market for further exploitation by the involved engineers. Spinoffs are different from the startups in the sense that their creation takes place within another organization. An innovation incubator is a Centre where new and startup companies are supported to develop innovations through being given a platform or management training (Tzameret, Helge & Stead, 2015) for instance in Kenya there is the Chandaria Business Innovation and Incubation Centre Innovators (Spruijt, 2017). All these innovation social communities are known for their disruptive nature of innovation.