TODAY Singapore. English., © 2010 MediaCorp Press Limited.
A nation-wide study on how branding innovation is perceived and implemented by small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) is currently under way.
Branding specialist StrategiCom, working in partnership with the Singapore Business Federation, has embarked on a national research survey that will ask 150 SMEs how they define innovation.
"There is a general view that innovation is a process only large multinational corporations can undertake because it involves high risks and costs due to intensive research and development," said Mr Teng Theng Dar, chief executive officer of Singapore Business Federation.
The truth, however, is that SMEs need innovation for their survival and profitability, he said.
By understanding how SMEs define innovation, the study will help evaluate and identify shortfalls and misconceptions in innovations, Mr Teng said.
"Innovation is also the prime driver for differentiation and achieving competitive advantage. As such, our research study is targeted at identifying innovation management areas among SMEs that need attention and improvement to help SME's productivity growth," said StrategiCom Group Principal Consultant & chief executive officer Dr Wilson Chew.
The study will look into the innovation management undertaken by SMEs.
These are measured not just by products, but in the areas of human resources and team work and through their efforts to seek external sources and gain co-operation for innovation.
Researchers will also measure the success rates and how SMEs have used branding to support their innovations.
This refers to how SMEs have successfully commercialised the innovation and relayed their competitive edge to consumers.
Qualitative views from the SMEs will be collected via focus groups and face-to-face interviews. These will then be corroborated with other branding innovation studies and research from Singapore and overseas.
The target completion for the study is the first quarter of 2010. Results will be presented on March 25 during the annual Singapore Brand Conference 2010.
PRINT
E-MAIL
SHARE