Methods for modeling and supporting innovation processes in SMEs Barbara Scozzi and Claudio Garavelli Dipartimento di Ingegneria per l’Ambiente e lo Sviluppo Sostenibile, Politecnico di Bari, Bari, Italy, and Kevin Crowston School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA Abstract Purpose – Sets out to investigate business modeling techniques (BMTs) which can be used to support and improve innovation processes within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach – Based on a literature review, different analysis perspectives on innovation processes are identified and discussed, and some firm needs and problems are pointed out. The importance of BMTs to firms is further tested by an empirical study whose initial results are reported. Finally, by matching problems and techniques characterized by the same ontology, the BMTs most suitable to address SME needs are identified and their role within the innovation process discussed. Findings – The main result of the paper is the identification of the problems facing SMEs in innovation processes and the possible support offered by BMTs. Though methods and models alone do not assure the success in the innovation development process (IDP), they are enabling factors and can support the creation of strategies, reasoning, insights and communication. Originality/value – The adoption of such BMTs, facilitating the codification of the characteristics of the IDP, might be particularly useful in those environments where, due to the lack of specialized resources, it is difficult to structure all of the information related to the innovation process and to exploit the related benefits and opportunities Keywords Innovation, Modelling, Small to medium-sized enterprises, Italy Paper type Case study Introduction An innovation is a product, service, or process that is new or perceived as new by its developers (Van de Ven, 1986). Some processes (e.g. new product development) are essential to develop innovations within companies. This paper discusses the use of modeling techniques to support innovation processes. We argue that techniques for process modeling and analysis, which we refer to collectively as business modeling techniques (BMTs), can be used to support and improve innovation processes. Such techniques are commonly used in many fields, e.g. for information system development. In these fields, the importance of such techniques is broadly recognized and benefits of their use have been shown empirically in the literature (Maylor, 2001; Wheelwright and Clark, 1992). However, BMTs have often been considered inappropriate for processes such as new product development (NPD) that are highly unstructured and characterized by difficult-to-forecast activities linked by reciprocal rather then sequential dependencies. Nevertheless, interest in modeling techniques to support innovation is rapidly increasing, though as yet, few modeling The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister www.emeraldinsight.com/1460-1060.htm EJIM 8,1 120 European Journal of Innovation Management Vol. 8 No. 1, 2005 pp. 120-137 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1460-1060 DOI 10.1108/14601060510578619