What did SMEs achieve out of their innovations is an important issue. Only if they are
able to convert their product and process innovations into sales, their innovations will be
fruitful otherwise not. Irrespective of whether new or improved products emerged due to
improved designs, quality improvement, cost reduction, material substitution,
introduction of new or improved processes, innovative firms must be able to sell such
innovated products in the market as part of their total sales. More successful innovative
firms might realize a higher share of innovated products in total sales compared to less
successful innovative firms. Table 4 presents the distribution of innovative SMEs in
terms of varying ranges of innovative products in total sales. A higher percentage of
innovative SMEs have succeeded in converting their innovations into sales in the auto
component sector relative to electronic and machine tool sectors. Among those SMEs
which have succeeded in converting their innovations into sales, the majority accounted
for a share of innovated products in total sales in the range of 10 per cent to 25 per cent in
all the three sectors.