IN SEARCH OF A CLEARER GROWTH PATH FOR CROATIAN ENTERPRISES

The purpose of this paper is to foster realistic reflections on the importance of stimulating research and development activities within national enterprises employing over 250 employees, based on the experience of prominent individuals, members of the top management team within these enterprises. Within research of the growth of Croatian enterprises and thereby the national economy, one of the questions that should be asked is: "Does the implementation of innovations ensure the growth of Croatian enterprises and thus the economy?" This question arises from the existing structure of Croatian enterprises in terms of their distribution according to economic activity and concentration of the employees. In fact, both of these parameters are not favourable for economic growth. The research results, based on 67 validly completed questionnaires, generally indicate that business experience is gained over a longer period of time. Therefore, the impact of research and development and thus eventually innovation may result from incremental processes