Understanding Barriers to Innovation in Non-Innovative SMEs in Egypt

Abstract

In today's globalized world, innovation is a key enabler that leads to economic growth, competitiveness, and sustainability. The gap between an innovative and any non-innovative SME in all regards is most probably widening, as much of small and medium business in Egypt are still to step into creative methodologies that many corporations have focused on to ensure their success in the market. By identifying the obstacles that prevent SMEs from being innovative, the research will attempt to determine what barriers hinder innovation in Egypt's non-innovative SMEs. This research seeks to identify the Sub-sectoral barriers in manufacturing sector specific to non-innovative SMEs to shed the light on these obstacles. This study is guided by this open ended question: What sub-sectoral barriers are hindering the innovative capacity of non-innovative SMEs in the Egyptian manufacturing sector? This study utilizes an analysis of existing data from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS).