| Summary: | In the last two decades, innovation has been a key driver of economic growth. Innovation is closely related to creating value and generating wealth through successful service to consumer needs. Thus, it is not necessarily restricted to the use of new knowledge generated from research, but on the development of new products or services that are obtained with creative use of knowledge, new or already known. This study aimed to identify management practices that promote a culture of innovation in small and medium enterprises and analyze how they contribute to the innovative capacity of these companies. The research method was the multiple case study with six small and medium businesses that have at least one case of significant innovation in its history. The main results showed that amongst the practices are: a) performance in highly specialized niches and deep focus on customer needs; b) strong investment and incorporation of new knowledge outside the company (open innovation); c) speed and agility in the absorption and deployment of new knowledge and technologies; d) retention of employees; e) acting as an integrator combining diverse knowledge and technologies; f) the information management of the knowledge acquired by the company; g) little concern to patent the technology; h) flexibility and informal, fluid and open communication between employees of the company that promotes agility in management and i) the management of partnerships across the value chain, including the functional areas.
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