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SMEs tend to lack the ability of sustainable development through cost-effective and repeated innovation. One way to find out a current innovation state is to run a self-assessment innovation audit, which are well used but got critics to not show reliable results The authors formed research question: How might a complementary interview affect the understanding of the result of the innovation audit when the interview is based on the same statements used in the audit? The study was conducted at two Swedish SMEs with a mix of management and personnel. 21 respondents at both companies answered 840 audit-statements and equal amount of interview questions rephrased from a “how-perspective”. 4 audit-statements were left blank and 103 interview questions were answered, “I don't know”. A great differ in the understanding appeared and the conclusion was that a selfassessment innovation audit might not show reliable results conducted without a complementing interview.

This paper aims to achieve a deeper understanding of innovation-gaps, found in a previous study according to innovation-audits made by the authors to this paper. Negative innovation-gap is of interest as they might affect innovation-performance within companies and further on Total innovation management (TIM). TIM is a holistic view of innovation, involving a broad representation of employees and functions for which the innovation-gaps could be crucial. This study was made at two Swedish industrial SMEs, 1170 written questions asked to 18 employees, 12 workshops held with two company-specific-groups and one company-mixed-group with senior management. The major findings were “organisational related innovation-gaps”, “individual related innovation-gaps” and several subgroups to both of them, e.g. conflicting incentives and time-related-gaps. The conclusion is to not try to categorise the gaps, but to be aware of them when practicing innovation management, as gaps, when become too big, seems to affect innovation-performance in a negative way. Keywords: innovation workshop; SME; innovation-gap, innovation management; innovation-gap analysis.

This case study shows the existence of potential untapped innovation capacity within employees' ordinary work. Purpose of identifying untapped innovation capacity is to involve a broader participation of employees into innovation-work in order to increase innovation-efficiency in companies. The case study was conducted at one Swedish SME where four participating employees were interviewed and observed when doing their ordinary work. Communication via i.e. e-mails, conversations and phone-calls were identified in 32% of the 267 documented work-activities and is suitable as work-activities when searching for i.e. innovative opportunities, suppliers etcetera according to innovation models, which could contribute to innovation and done by anyone at any department. Future research is suggested to develop and test if communication-based work-activities where innovation-cognition could be added to employees when communicating in their ordinary work with purpose to contribute to an overall innovation-work. The benefits would be that more employees easily could contribute to innovation work by being aware of innovationissues while communication as usual in their ordinary work.