SME collaboration: Trick or Treat?

Abstract

Collaboration is a major new source of competitive advantage and an essential regional, and indeed, global management requirement. The collaboration process will ultimately be successful if there is an existence of appropriate systems and structures, open channels of communication, a strong sense of purpose and availability of the necessary resources. Support organizations for SMEs play a vital role in creating the environment in which SMEs can collaborate, focus in this article on support organisations whose main tasks are those of activating and assistance aiming at increasing, encouraging and stimulating innovation, rather than financing or creating it. A concrete example of the interplay of different actions related to training and the customized and personalized support is described.