This paper examines the factors influencing innovation and the relationship between innovation and productivity among Australian tourism small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Unlike most past studies relying on cross-sectional data, this study employs longitudinal innovation data of 400 tourism SMEs over five years. A two-stage random-effects probit model is used to account for unobserved firm heterogeneity. The results show that innovation inputs, firm characteristics, and external environment significantly affect innovation in general with competition and demand uncertainty being the distinct drivers of marketing innovation. The study reveals a significant and positive effect of technological and marketing innovation on tourism SMEs' productivity. Findings inform policy discussions to improve the current low levels of productivity in the tourism industry.

本文研究了影响创新的因素以及澳大利亚旅游业中小企业（SME）的创新与生产力之间的关系。与以往大多数依靠横截面数据的研究不同，本研究采用了五年来400家旅游中小企业的纵向创新数据。使用两阶段随机效应概率模型来解释未观察到的公司异质性。结果表明，创新投入，公司特征和外部环境总体上对创新产生重大影响，竞争和需求不确定性是营销创新的明显驱动力。这项研究揭示了技术和营销创新对旅游业中小企业生产率的显着积极影响。