Abstract:
It is well accepted in business practice that there are advantages for individuals and organisations in utilising their relationship networks for the purposes of personal and business advancement. Furthermore, the need for firms to develop the ability to innovate products, processes and positions to remain competitive is welldocumented. The purpose of this research was to make an academic contribution to the body of knowledge of the relationship between networking and innovation in firms operating in emerging economies.The research drew on the previous understanding of theories of business networks and innovation, and in some respects drew from relevant empirical studies from emerging economies. The literature review identified key concepts and business network descriptors to be used in the data analysis.Secondary data (using survey methodology) from the European Union INGINEUS project [No 225368] was used for this analysis. Using 720 responses, the data was analysed to investigate possible associations between each set of business network descriptors and innovation. This analysis was then expanded to build a regression model, revealing empirical evidence of significant relationships between some of the sub-variables for Country, Company structure, Collaboration type and Linkage type with Level of innovation. From this, key recommendations could be inferred for policymakers, business managers and entrepreneurs.
