Small business innovation conjures up images of entrepreneurs taking existing products and tweaking them for a ready market of customers who are looking for just that solution not currently being met.

Contrast this image with corporate innovation that conjures up images of white-coated boffins in laboratories and driven young things in the creative media industries. But some large companies, together with the government, are keen to sell a different image. Innovation they argue is about piecemeal improvements to processes and work organization, a culture of democratic tweaks.

While small business ideas and innovation is entrepreneurial driven and tend not to reinvent the wheel but instead address gaps in established and proven customer demand, large corporate innovation depends on how creative is the workforce.

New research commissioned by Vodafone, the telecommunications company, paints a mix picture. There's good news and bad news. The good news is of 2,000 employees interviewed, 28% say they generate an idea every week. That translates to 27m productive ideas into circulation for companies; based on just three serviceable in any year. More than two-thirds of respondents believe their managers are likely to listen to new business ideas.

Another striking finding is that micro or small businesses (companies with up to five employees) workers are three times more likely to originate an idea every day than in companies with more than 250 staff. Sectors such as media and marketing are much better at generating ideas than others such as transport, manufacturing and utilities.

The bad news is that employers' attitude for creativity is low. More than half of employees say they are not encouraged to come up with new business ideas, while 49% believe they work for organizations that are just no good with new business ideas.

It does appear that the traditional techniques of managing innovation - notable suggestion schemes, brainstorming and away days are regarded with suspicion. Consequently employees keep business ideas locked up in their heads. Furthermore, 79% are offered no financial incentives to generate business ideas, and 60% are given no time.

So while the government and big companies struggle with encouraging innovation and ideas from within, smaller companies are thriving in these areas. The Internet has created a treasure chest of information and successful prototypes to model, copy and enhance. Small Business ideas can be tested on the cheap. If one does not work, move on the the next one at speed. No committee or board decision is required.

There are successful small companies that have built products on the 'coat tail of success' of large companies by researching markets and developing in demand solutions. Why reinvent the wheel and spend vast sums in creating a market when a large company with fat budgets has done all the hard work for you?

So the advice to large companies when it comes to generating business ideas include:

1. It is vital to offer incentives for generating ideas
2. It is important to have a way of capturing and implementing good business ideas
3. It is necessary to realize that creativity cannot b e planned

David
Small Business Resource