A Study on factors that influence innovation activities: the case of Latvia and Lithuania
ENProblem statement – According to Eurostat data innovation activities in Latvia and Lithuania are rather low (Eurostat, 2012). The situation called for examination in order to determine why innovation activities are underdeveloped, where the trigger is and what should be done in order to enhance innovation activities in Latvia and Lithuania. The divergence of the research results still puts the innovation concept into the question area. What is innovation and what factors determine innovation development? The paper presents the research framework which brings together a variety of factors related to the innovation process on the basis of a systemic review of theoretical and empirical studies. The results highlight a set of variables which would help entrepreneurs and policy makers to foster innovation through the choice of the best methods and benefit from studying the analyzed phenomenon. Purpose – investigate the relations between human capital, R&D, the government policy; examine the interaction of companies with their external environment within the innovation sector; explore the connection between innovation-oriented organizational culture, and market orientation from one side and the introduced product innovation, process innovation, marketing innovation and organizational innovation from the other side in Latvian and Lithuanian innovative enterprises. The principal tasks of the paper are as follows: to investigate of the main theoretical aspect of the concept of innovation; to analyze the innovation generation process in Latvian and Lithuanian innovative enterprises; to explore the relation between individual, organizational and external factors and introduced innovation.Main research methods used. The monograph method –the collection and compilation of information regarding factors having influence on innovation creation. The method makes enables carrying out a detailed study of the object, based on scientific literature and research results. The grouping method – the process of creating, on the basis of statistical clustering, a homogenous group, or a research unit that merges particular entities, taking into account a constructive feature of the unit. Statistical analysis techniques: correlation analysis. The graphical method – illustration by graphic design and image building to elicit correlation of phenomena and the nature of relations and shapes. The content analysis – the systematic numeral processing, evaluation and interpretation of the form and content of the information source. A survey – empirical, economic, social, management research method applied in order to gather information from representatives of innovative enterprises in Latvia and Lithuania. The questionnaire type is the same for Latvian and Lithuanian enterprises. Main results and conclusions of the paper. A theoretical scheme was created for the analysis of influential factors on innovation creation that reflects on the enterprise capacity to achieve competitive advantage. The impact of various factors on innovation in Lithuanian and Latvian innovative companies was empirically tested. Methodology for the evaluation of influential factors on innovation creation was devised. The research estimated the impact of human capital, R&D, cooperation with scientific-research centers, universities, organizational culture, and market orientation on innovation capacity in Latvia and Lithuania. Recommendations for Latvian and Lithuanian enterprises for the introduction of the best innovative practices was prepared.
