Innovation and development practices : Exploring small enterprises’ innovation and development practices

Sammanfattning: Background: Small enterprises are critical to the Swedish and European economies accounting for a significant portion of job creation and overall employment. However, the understanding of how innovation and development are carried out within small enterprise contexts remains limited. By examining the furniture-manufacturing industry this study aims to shed light on the practices and strategies employed by SMEs to foster innovation and development   Purpose: This master's thesis investigates and explores how small enterprises in the furniture-manufacturing industry in Sweden manage their innovation and development. The study addresses the research gap by answering the following research question:                                   How do small enterprises within the furniture-manufacturing industry in Sweden manage their innovation and development?   Method: This study employed a qualitative research design, using semi-structured interviews with owners/managers of small enterprises in the furniture-manufacturing industry in Sweden. A purposive sampling technique was used to select participants. The collected data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach to identify patterns and themes related to innovation and development management in small enterprises.   Conclusion: This study examined how small enterprises within the furniture industry in Sweden manage innovation and development practices across three stages: ideation, testing and refinement, and production. The study's results show that the designer and CEO are always involved. Furthermore, management practices were found to vary depending on the stage of the product development process. The study highlighted the importance of environmental and sustainable considerations in the ideation stage. In the testing and refinement stage, the management practices were more informal but efficient and involved