Innovation and Foresight in SMEs: Lessons From the Case of U.K. Digital Health Companies

Abstract

Technological innovation represents a significant opportunity for those organizations that are able to identify new technologies early and anticipate their future evolution and impact. At the same time, technological change is a key challenge, particularly for organizations that have limited resources for monitoring and developing emerging technologies and/or for transferring technologies from other industries/sectors. This is the case, in particular, for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The main objective of this article is to propose a new methodological approach to foresight that contributes to the literature on innovation management. This approach is tailored to SMEs and addresses the specific barriers they face in relation to foresight and innovation, e.g., limited access to information about new technologies and limited familiarity with advanced managerial practices. We illustrate our novel approach to foresight and innovation in SMEs and its application to a cluster of 16 SMEs of the London Digital Health Hub, and we discuss the main benefits and disadvantages of this approach. We contribute to the foresight and innovation literature by developing a methodological framework that is specifically designed for SMEs, rather than the adaptation or transfer of the dominant frameworks that have been previously designed for and applied in large organizations, corporate firms, and public institutions.