1. Objectives
This paper explores what innovative Serbian entrepreneurial firms are and what types of business process innovations they have introduced. It also investigates the relationship between introducing innovations on one side and customer and employee satisfaction on the other.
2. Methodology
An online survey was used as the primary source of collecting data. On a 5-point Likert scale, the owners of the companies evaluated different statements about introducing and subsequent use of innovations related to various business processes. On the same scale, they also compared employee and customer satisfaction with that of their most important competitors. The statistical analysis involved descriptive statistics, frequencies, reliability, and correlation analysis.
3. Results
The results indicate that most entrepreneurial firms introduced many business process innovations related to product and business process development. Those innovations allow for more efficient operations and improvements in various processes. They enable establishing routines and responding to customer complaints faster than the competition. The results also suggest a positive association between introducing business process innovations on one side and customer and employee satisfaction on the other.
4. Implications
The findings of this paper can help policymakers create instruments for supporting entrepreneurial firms in Serbia and assess the contribution of innovation to economic goals. They indicate what kind of support is required to strengthen small firms’ innovation capacity.
5. Originality Value
As far as the authors are aware, such research has not been previously conducted in Serbia. Nonetheless, the results are comparable with those of similar studies that are conducted in other countries. Moreover, the results of this study could be applied to other Western Balkans countries with similar characteristics of national innovation systems.
6. Contribution
This research adds important new insights into the innovative activity of Serbian entrepreneurial firms, and it shows their success in introducing innovations related to various business processes. Moreover, the findings indicate a clear connection between business process innovations on one side and employee and customer satisfaction on the other.
Author Contributions
Objectives, M.P. and M.L.-M.; Methodology, M.P. and M.L.-M.; Results, M.P. and M.L.-M.; Implications, M.P. and M.L.-M.; Originality Value, M.P. and M.L.-M.; Contribution, M.P. and M.L.-M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This work was supported by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia.
Institutional Review Board Statement
Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement
Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [M.P.], upon reasonable request.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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