Abstract This study describes the sources of essential knowledge and analyses the knowledge dynamics in innovation cases of four micro-sized companies. This study seeks to answer the following questions: What are the sources of essential knowledge for the cases selected? What kind of knowledge is required, and what phases can be identified? What kind of features of knowledge anchoring can be identified in the innovation processes? This study will serve as an interesting benchmarking object for public business services. The findings suggest that public actors should pay more attention to the case-specific needs of innovative micro-sized companies while developing their services.