Proposal for a model of innovation management for horizontal networks of enterprises

Abstract

Taking as assumption that the innovation is a fundamental requirement as much   for individual enterprises as for networks of enterprises, this article proposes a model of innovation for horizontal networks of enterprises. The networks have characteristics that make them more complex than the traditional hierarchical organizations, because of the number of actors involved, the need to maintain a healthy environment of relationships, the geographical dispersion of the participants and the shared management. On the other hand, the existence of firms and entrepreneurs with different profiles and experiences in a same network increases the possibility of sharing knowledge and generate innovations.  The contribution of the paper is to propose a model of innovation management appropriate to the characteristics of the horizontal networks of enterprises capable to stimulate the generation and introduction of the innovations in the enterprises of the network.