Innovation and the management of marketing in high technology small firms

This paper initially attempts conceptually to integrate marketing into the total innovation process within high technology small firms. It is argued that an understanding of marketing problems can only be achieved when viewed in terms of other preceding stages in the innovation cycle, of which marketing is a key final act. The subsequent presentation of evidence from two recent research studies indicates that marketing has been neglected in a surprising number of the high technology small firms studied, in which there was a considerable reliance on unsolicited orders as a reactive form of selling. It is argued that this lack of marketing vigour is partly caused by a shortage of human and financial resources which frequently stem from expensive earlier stages in the innovation cycle (e.g. R&D). It is concluded that vigorous marketing would increase output and growth in several of the currently reactive instances. Thus, the paper concludes with suggestions for a more pro‐active policy on the part of government agencies towards the promotion of sales growth in these currently inactive high technology small enterprises.