DR. ATHANASIOS HADJIMANOLIS IS technical sales manager with D. J. Shukuroglu Ltd., Cyprus, who recently completed his doctoral research under the supervision of Professor Keith Dickson, Deputy Head of the School Business and Management, Brunel University, England. From this research a case study based qualitative analysis of small firms' innovation strategies within the context of a small developing country has been distilled as the basis of this paper. A comparative analysis of 25 case studies of small and medium-sized manufacturing firms in Cyprus is presented with particular reference to their innovative behaviour and management practices. The context for this analysis is Cyprus, a small developing economy, which serves to highlight the influence that particular economic circumstances have on innovative activity. A simple typology of the case firms with three categories (proactive innovator, reactive innovator and non-innovator) is proposed with each category having distinct characteristics and practices related to innovative behaviour.
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