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Abstract
Although innovation has long been accepted in the business literature as instrumental to company success, very little research has been done specific to the forest products industry. This qualitative study looks at small forest products firms in Alaska and Oregon to develop a basic understanding of their concept of innovation and innovativeness. Interviews were conducted in 17 small companies ranging in size from 1 to 60 employees. The literature suggests that innovation can be divided into product, process, and business system innovation. Findings are consistent with this view. Of the seven concepts of innovation identified by respondents in this study, the most common was having a unique product or process. Six of the seven identified concepts logically correspond with product, process, or business systems innovation. The seventh, "a way of thinking," is an umbrella concept that describes the collective personality of individuals in the firm and the firm's ability to be innovative. With respect to the product innovation process, we identified six steps of product development practiced by the respondents. However, generally the respondents did not undertake consistent, structured processes for product development.
New product development (NPD) and innovation have long been recognized as critical ingredients in a firm's competitive advantage (Brown and Eisenhardt 1995, Motwani et al. 1999, Cooper 2000, Scarborough and Zimmerer 2002) and as a driving force for economic development (O'Shea and McBain 1999). Constant innovation is a competitive advantage because it allows a company to better meet consumer needs (Cooper 1996), stay ahead of the competition, capitalize on strategic market opportunities, and align organizational strengths with market opportunities (Thomas 1995). In fact, after assessing the existing literature, Han et al. (1998) conclude that past research uniformly shows a positive relationship between innovation and firm performance.
At a recent forest industry conference, keynote speaker Warren Easley, Vice President for Technology and Quality at Louisiana Pacific, insisted that "new, innovative products are badly needed" and that the key to the future success of forest products manufacturers will be centered on new products, new processes, and the use of new raw materials (Blackman 1998). As globalization continues and the industry faces intensified competition from other regions, the imperative for innovation increases. In an example from the furniture industry, Bumgardner et al. (2000)...