Can top management and staff through communications influence innovations and innovation activities in Swedish SMEs?

Abstract: The field of research study is Swedish SMEs that belong to plastic industry. In the time ofglobalization and high competition on the global market, the issues of innovationimplementation and processes that can increase effectiveness of innovative activities are oftendiscussed. The issue is essentially important for small and medium businesses, which due totheir size and specifications are more flexible and can easily implement innovations. Due tothe fact, that Swedish market is filled with small and medium enterprises and innovativeactivities are among the most current and attractive for discussion, the research on the matterof innovation is seen as important contribution and necessary study for the modern market.The study focuses on importance of communicative processes between managers andemployees on the matter of innovation and innovative activities. The general researchquestion focuses on studying whether managers and employees can influence innovations andinnovative activities through communication. The research focuses on studying SwedishSMEs, on the case of plastic industry. SMEs in Sweden are well known for innovativeactivities, however, the research attempts to discover whether such activities are effective andwhether communication between managers and employees “makes or breaks innovativeecosystem” (Estrin, 2009). The motivation behind this research is to find how communicativeactivities in Swedish SMEs influence innovative processes and find whether managers andemployees can influence effectively innovations through communication for the benefit of theorganization.