Underrated Innovativeness of Micro-Enterprises Compared to Small to Medium Enterprises in the Slovenian Forest-Wood Sector

Abstract

Although micro-enterprises represent most of the enterprises across different sectors, they are excluded from official statistics on innovation activities. What we know about micro-enterprises is based on smaller quantitative and qualitative studies that are country- and sector-specific. To understand the innovation activities of Slovenian enterprises in the forest-wood sector, we conducted our own quantitative study in 2019 based on the Eurostat’s Community Innovation Survey (CIS) questionnaire. Based on responses from 294 enterprises, we compare how micro-enterprises and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) differ in innovation strategies, product, and process innovations, co-operation with other organisations, innovation activities, and innovations with environmental benefits. The results indicate that, in some respects, enterprises with two to nine employees are at least as innovative as small to medium enterprises, or even more so. We argue that innovation surveys should lower the employee count threshold to attain better representative insight into the innovation landscape.