Determinants and barriers to innovation among Moroccan firms during the COVID-19 pandemic: a descriptive study

Abstract

At the regional level, since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, several innovations have emerged thanks to the efforts and initiatives of industrialists, researchers, administrators, and citizens to propose new products such as masks and shields, new forms of organization such as the digitalization of administrative procedures, teleworking, webinars, as well as new forms of marketing: delivery services and virtual orders. Regional stakeholders have become aware of the crucial importance of the local economy focused on innovation and creativity of all economic, social, and political actors, due to the circumstances of this pandemic.

Following this observation and being aware of the importance of innovation, a study was conducted with 125 companies to identify the main determinants of innovation in an uncertain international context. The companies were selected based on their geographical location and sector type using a non-probabilistic convenience sampling method.

The results of the study showed that among the companies studied, 86% are innovative in their sector. Specifically, 21% of them innovate in the product, 19% in the service, 20% in the processes, 18% resort to commercial innovations, and 22% to organizational innovations. The regional innovation study conducted in the Fès-Meknès region also identified several difficulties related to financing, human resources, the market, the search for cooperation partners, R&D projects, the slowness of administrative procedures, as well as the lack of commitment of public institutions.

Key words: innovation, determinants, barriers, companies, pandemic

JEL Classification : O30

Paper Type: Descriptive Study