Title
Investing in workplace innovation pays off for SME's: A regional innovation initiative from the Netherlands
Author
Oeij, P.R.A.
de Vroome, E.M.M.
Bolland, A.
Gründemann, R.W.M.
van Teeffelen, L.
Publication year
2014
Abstract
From 2009 to 2013 the workplace innovation project “My Enterprise 2.0” was carried out in the region of Utrecht in the Netherlands in order to strengthen the workplace innovation capability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Participating enterprises completed a questionnaire regarding the “workplace innovativeness” of their company. A workplace innovation intervention was then implemented by some of the companies, while other companies chose not to take part. At the end of the project, a second questionnaire indicated that those companies that implemented interventions had a significantly higher score with regard to overall workplace innovativeness. The companies without such interventions reported a small decrease. While the companies in the region had higher workplace innovativeness scores relative to a national reference group both before and after the project, the increase in the “workplace innovativeness” of the regional SMEs that experienced interventions suggests that the project proved beneficial to their continued “workplace innovativeness.” Moreover, these companies also reported positive effects on company performance, achieving company goals and improving labor productivity.
Subject
Life
SP - Sustainable Productivity and Employability WHC - Work, Health and Care
ELSS - Earth, Life and Social Sciences
Work and Employment
Workplace
Healthy Living
Innovative capability
Organizational Intervention
Regional innovation
Smes
Workplace
Innovation
Netherlands
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:de69c6a7-c4b5-4210-86fb-03fc44015925
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3167/ijsq.2014.040206
TNO identifier
503759
Source
International Journal of Social Quality, 4 (2), 86-106
Document type
article