Research Series

Chapter 1. Introduction (Kyetaik Oh, Seong-Jae Cho)

Chapter 2. Case Studies of Large Firms Supporting Workplace Innovation of Their Suppliers (Dongbae Kim)

Chapter 3. Case Studies of Workplace Innovation of Competitive SMEs (Yongjin Nho)

Chapter 4. Workplace Innovation Support Activities of Major Support Institutions (Joohwan Lim)

Chapter 5. Workplace Innovation of German SMEs through Digitization (Moonho Lee)

Chapter 6. Workplace Innovation of Japanese SMEs (Seung Gook Jung)

Chapter 7. Policy Direction and Implications to Promote Workplace Innovation (Seong-Jae Cho)

The purpose of this study is to derive policy implications for promoting workplace innovation in Korean workplaces. Economic policies for overcoming polarization, building a society respecting labor, and workplace innovation are all closely related. While the wages of low-wage workers should be increased in order to adapt to the changing labor market environment, such increase must be supported by productivity enhancement. Productivity enhancement is also required to alleviate labor cost pressures caused by the minimum wage rise and to establish the system of reduced working hours. Workplace innovation is expected to not only bring economic benefits but also provide opportunities for low-skilled and less-educated workers to improve their skills and to be assigned the roles that fit their competencies, thus laying the foundation for building a labor respecting society. In addition, it is also expected to facilitate a comprehensive industrial upgrade by promoting technological innovation and complementary cooperation in this era of the fourth industrial revolution characterized by rapid technological development.

To establish a new development model for workplace innovation, it is important to redesign the workplace innovation policy for SMEs. To this end, it is necessary to develop theories and models to promote workplace innovation for SMEs; to evaluate the previous policies and projects; and to find best practices at home and abroad to promote workplace innovation. After collecting and analyzing such information, the next step would be to classify workplace innovations for large companies into a couple of models, and to develop and disseminate SME models. Workplace innovation cannot be achieved with a one-shot policy; it needs to be pursued in a continuous manner from a long-term and structural perspective so that it can be rooted in the corporate ecosystem.

Each chapter contains the following: Chapter 2 analyzes the cases of manufacturing innovation support of SMEs including suppliers of large firms from the viewpoint of SME workplace innovation. Chapter 3 conducts a case study on the status and characteristics of workplace innovation for SMEs with relatively strong competitiveness. Chapter 4 analyzes how the organizations designed to improve and support innovation are actually supporting SMEs for workplace innovation. Chapter 5 examines how German SMEs achieved organizational innovation through digitization. Chapter 6 analyzes the workplace innovation of Japanese SMEs.