Responsible innovation: exploring how Malaysia small-medium enterprises (SMEs) co-create value with external stakeholders in different industries

Chuah, Catherine Jia Qian (2023) Responsible innovation: exploring how Malaysia small-medium enterprises (SMEs) co-create value with external stakeholders in different industries. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)]

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Abstract

It is said that a sustainable business model can responsibly innovate to affect society, the environment, and the economy. Several scholars are interested in co-creation, one of the facets of responsible innovation. There is now a wealth of literature examining the many forms of co-creation as well as the benefits and effects of doing so in a business-to-consumer setting. Research on how SMEs collaborate with outside parties to accomplish responsible innovation in the context of B2C and B2B, however, is woefully inadequate, particularly in Malaysia. This study fills that gap.

This study aims to explore (i) how Malaysian SMEs undergo responsible innovation in terms of co-creation with external stakeholders (ii) who are the external stakeholders involved in co-creating with Malaysian SMEs, and (iii) what are the co-creation impacts/outcomes in terms of responsible innovation for SMEs and end users? Using purposive sampling, which is extremely popular in a qualitative study, this research effort focuses on four Malaysian SMEs from diverse industries, providing us insights into the co-creation processes of B2B and B2C. Primary data was obtained via in-depth, semi-structured interviews with the senior management and founders of SMEs. Meanwhile, secondary data was obtained from publications such as financial reports, news articles, and corporate social reports (CSR).

The study findings provide detailed information on SMEs' innovative processes, especially the different stakeholders and the roles played in multiple stages of business operation. A theoretical framework was developed to explain how SMEs with certain characteristics affect responsible innovation processes in terms of co-creation with their external stakeholders. Besides that, the framework also identified the roles of the external stakeholders, which leads to different responsible innovation impacts. At the end of the research effort, future directions were suggested, where research on the relationship between founders' personalities and characteristics and responsible innovation processes could provide useful insights into whether entrepreneurship and activism characteristics are the factors behind all innovation.

Item Type: Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)
Depositing User: Chuah, Catherine
Date Deposited: 25 Jul 2023 06:49
Last Modified: 25 Jul 2023 06:49
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/73079

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