Is that Innovation? Assessing Examples of Revitalized Economic Dynamics among Clusters of Small Producers in Northern Vietnam
Jaap Voeten, Job de Haan & Gerard de Groot
#2009-055
This paper addresses the question whether innovation is within reach for
small enterprises in developing economies by studying four cases of new
technologies, products and business practices in traditional craft in
Northern Vietnam. The paper starts with reviewing definitions of
innovation since Schumpeter. It concludes that newness, value creation
and process are time and again considered as the key-elements of
innovation. Innovation, hence, may be summarized as the process of
introducing something new that creates value. Subsequently, this
theoretical definition is operationalized into an innovation assessment
instrument and applied in the aforementioned cases. The instrument
verified the occurrence of innovation in three out of four cases of
small producers’ clusters in Northern Vietnam. The entrepreneurs managed
to implement innovation on their own strength and upon their own
initiative. This provides evidence that small enterprises in developing
countries are indeed able to take part in the process of increasing
competitiveness through innovation.
Keywords: innovation, small enterprises, clusters, value chains, Vietnam
JEL classification: O31
UNU-MERIT Working Papers
ISSN 1871-9872
