Measuring the degree of innovation in retail and services’ micro and small enterprises

Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) are considered the most dynamic and flexible arrangement of activity. In the economy, the foundation and development of these features is important for the creation of the so-called “normal” economic environment. The main objective of this research is to present a research model of innovation in MSEs to analyse: first, the degree of innovation of MSEs, and second, how the innovation is handled by existing MSEs as a result of its business environment. The research made is based on a sample of 550 MSEs distributed over six cities across the Brazilian State of Piauí. The data were collected using the Innovation Radar application, which is owned by the SEBRAE Local Innovation Agents program. Statistical techniques of descriptive, exploratory, and inferential nature were used for corresponding data treatment and results validation. The results obtained suggest that MSEs have innovation capacity between the “Little Innovative” and “Occasional Innovative” range, and also that the average and the distribution of innovation levels are similar amongst MSEs analyzed.