Have you ever wondered why not all firms are innovative? If you are a development practitioner like I am, then you must have come across hundreds if not thousands of small and large firms that are not very innovative. This results in these firms also not being very competitive.
There could be many reasons why so many firms are not innovating, and one of these is that the firms are serving undemanding customers. This very often happens in rural or isolated areas, of where companies provide convenient goods and services. Another reason why firms do not innovate is that innovation requires change, and this change is uncertain. This makes innovation not only risky, but also potentially expensive.
One of the reasons why development practitioners should try to stimulate the competitiveness of firms that they work with, is that increased competitiveness requires innovation. Again, this does not simply imply new products or processes are developed or improved, but also that firms try new management innovations. However, many development practitioners are not comfortable with competition, or do not understand the importance of competition to the socio-economic development of a society. There is a tendency in the field to try and get groups of individuals or firms to compete together against a competitor ‘out there’. This is a first step in the right direction, but we must also try to get our local firms to compete against each other. Thus we must try to create opportunities to collaborate, but at the same time we must try and increase or stimulate the local competition against each other. With this I am implying the nice and healthy kind of competition.
What is often forgotten in economic development, is that we are not only concerned with the health and the well-being of the business owners. Firms must also innovate to create better, healthier and more stimulating jobs, attract foreign investment, skills and knowledge into our areas, and finally, provide improved goods and services to local communities. The latter is usually overlooked. Thus, we want firms to be competing with each other, and together also competing with others, not only to make business owners and managers rich, but to ensure that our society in itself becomes wealthier and more innovative. This will then lead to more innovative and competitive businesses, and so the virtuous cycle is complete.