Firm-level Innovation Models: Perspectives on Research in Developed and Developing Countries

This paper provides a critical review of firm-level innovation models based on research in the industrially advanced countries (IACs) and draws implications for firms in industrialising countries such as Korea and Taiwan. The paper summarises different categories of innovation model and identifies their achievements and weaknesses, showing how a few researchers have successfully linked IAC models to innovation processes found within the more advanced developing nations such as Korea. One of the chief contributions of IAC models is that many of them go substantially into the management of innovation and the decision-making processes within the firm. However, in general, there is a lack of empirical evidence to verify existing models, weak theoretical underpinnings and, in some cases, a failure to sufficiently recognise the diversity and unpredictability of innovation processes. The paper suggests how best to use innovation models and how to overcome some of the difficulties in future research.