Internal barriers to innovation: the impact in paraguayan firms

Abstract

Innovation is recognized by the literature as a fundamental factor in the competitiveness of the countries and companies that make up its business fabric, therefore it is vitally important to know and understand the behavior of some barriers that may affect innovative potential. The goal of this research is to look at the impact of internal barriers to innovation in Paraguayan firms, based on the data produced by the second survey on entrepreneurial innovation “Encuesta de Innovación Empresarial EIEP –2016”. This article shows the relationship between the “knowledge” and “financing” barriers on innovation of products, processes, organization, and marketing, based on a sample of 555 firms. Results show that the perception of “lack of qualified personnel” and
“lack of funds in the company” affect significantly and differently the four types of innovation. These results can help on the generation of public policies and strategies to foster innovation in business companies, especially in relationship to internal barriers. Furthermore, the results can help entrepreneurs
and managers to understand these barriers to take action toward innovation in their companies.