La partecipazione delle PMI a progetti europei di R&S: il ruolo delle risorse in una prospettiva business network

Purpose. Technology innovation is an important source of competitiveness also for Small Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). However, the development of innovation is particularly challenging for SMEs, in the light of their limited financial resources, lack of multidisciplinary competencies and use of less structured approaches to innovation. Moreover, R&D activities play a key role for SMEs' innovation purposes. In this regard, particularly significant is the growing phenomenon of SMEs participation in multilateral R&D projects carried out within the European Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development (FP) which is the main policy instrument of the European Union (EU) providing financial support to numerous transnational R&D project. This thesis aims to provide a contribution on the role of European R&D projects (ERDPs) on SMEs' resource development. In particular, it is argued that gaining knowledge on the resource development processes by SMEs in these settings might provide useful insights on the one hand on the managerial challenges in SMEs' participation to this type of projects, and on the other hand on the effectiveness of EU policies, programs and project configurations. In order to pursue this research objective, two different conceptual strands have guided this work: the IMP perspective, in the light of its emphasis on the evolution of business networks and the role of resources in the development of technological innovations; and the Project Management and the Project Marketing for the understanding of project nature and characteristics. Methodology This paper adopts a qualitative approach based on a multiple longitudinal case-study method. The case analysis concerns three SMEs based in Italy. The first company, Gamma, is a small high-tech firm, active in nanotechnologies since 2005 as a research spin-off and since its establishment active in ERDPs. The second one, Alfa, is a family-owned manufacturing company with over forty-five years of history in both mold engineering and plastic parts production services which begins its participation in ERDPs in 2003, after the transition from the founders to the second generation of owners, and only for a limited period. The third company, Omega, is a high-tech enterprise founded in 2004 as academic spin-off company based on research on Human Machine Interface (HMI) technology and active in ERDPs since the consolidation of its business development. The analysis is developed along the main phases of company development and in relation with the participation in different ERDPs. Findings The empirical analysis sheds some light on the wide range of resources used in projects that can be both technological and organizational. Moreover, the analysis of the three cases highlights that organizational resources are of fundamental importance on a par with those of technology and how this should be taken into account by SMEs. The participation in several projects allows, not only the development of individual technological resources or organizational resources themselves, but above all the development of the interaction between these two types. In turn, the development of resources in multiple projects has different impact on the path followed by the company in general and this leads to different business developments. Originality/value. This thesis provides a contribution on the managerial dimension of SMEs' participation in European R&D projects - which represents a neglected topic in the existing literature - on two distinct grounds: networking processes and resource development processes. With respect to resource development processes in European R&D projects, this multiple case-study underlines the relevance of ERDPs for developing both technological and organizational resources, highlighting the relevance of reputation, knowledge, and units for managing projects which belongs to this specific domain. In terms of networking processes, this paper highlights the need to fully understand the interplay of European R&D project networks and business networks.