Innovation and Export

4Implementation of the PE2I: Test with French SMEs

The PE2I, because of its design methodology, is based on both theoretical and field data; however, it is nevertheless essential to compare it to the reality of the business world, and more particularly to the SMEs, to attest to its relevance and acceptability. The aim of this application is to test its functioning in a real situation, as well as to compare the results it proposes with the vision of company managers. We have therefore carried out this application with six SMEs with different profiles.

4.1. Experimental panel and methodology

The objective of this section is to present the methodology used to implement the PE2I within SMEs. We have chosen to proceed by case study. Case study is a qualitative research method. According to Yin (2013), it is a research strategy using empirical investigation situated in a real context. It seeks to understand a contemporary phenomenon and mobilizes multiple sources of information. It is traditionally used in an exploratory manner, but according to Hlady-Rispal (2016), its contributions can be much more numerous. For this study, the case study is used in a deductive qualitative logic. It is about confronting a “theoretical” model (the PE2I tool) with the reality of the field for which it was designed (SMEs). The objective of this confrontation is twofold. First, it is a test of the PE2I in a real situation. This test concerns first the operational aspects of the tool: Does it work properly? ...