This study took place in Portugal and focuses on the importance of the
innovative attitude towards the sustainability of companies. The aim is to define how
Research, Development & Innovation (RDI) must to be followed by companies to attain
competitiveness, which will allow them to remain and survive in the market. Once confirmed
this belief it becomes interesting to acknowledge why innovation does not occur and what
kind of barriers to innovation face the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) studied.
Additionally is analysed the existence of similarities in the barriers observed in Portugal with
studies carried out in other countries
