Key Characteristics of the Small Innovative Firm

Despite broad agreement on the strategic role of SMEs (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) in industrial renewal processes, the lack of systematized and comprehensive information on the nature and level of small innovative firms is striking. This bias is partly explained by an empirical shadow created by the limited availability of good, detailed data for comparable firm-level analyses. Based on extensive matched databases, the purpose of this paper is to provide new insights into the roles of micro and small innovative firms in research-based as well as tradition-based manufacture. The data consists of close to 160 000 observations of manufacturing firms in Sweden over the period 2000- 2006, including information on innovation activities captured by patent applications, firm characteristics, international trade and the regional milieu.QC 2012013