New survey reveals less than half of EU15 enterprises display innovative activity
Between 1998 and 2000, 44 per cent of companies in the EU15 undertook some form of innovation activity, according to the third Community Innovation Survey, published by Eurostat on 7 May. During the same period, those Member States with the highest proportion of companies actively involved in innovation were Ireland (65 per cent), Germany (61 per cent), Belgium (50 per cent) and Austria (49 per cent). Those countries with the poorest performance in this respect were Greece (28 per cent), Spain (33 per cent) and Italy and the UK (36 per cent each). For the survey, innovative activity is defined as the introduction of new or significantly improved products (goods or services) to the market, as well as process innovations - new and significantly improved production technology or methods of supplying services and delivering products. With regard to company size, the survey clearly shows that the larger the enterprise, the more likely it is to undertake innovative activity. In the EU15 (Member States before enlargement), 39 per cent of small companies - with between 10 and 49 employees - introduced innovations, compared with 77 per cent of large companies with 250 or more employees. Some 60 per cent of medium sized enterprises, employing between 50 and 249 people, displayed innovative activity. Comparing the innovative performance of the two main business sectors in EU15 countries reveals that 47 per cent of companies in industry, including mining, manufacturing, and the supply of utilities, carried out innovations between 1998 and 2000, compared with 40 per cent from the services sector (wholesale, transport and communication, financial and business services). This EU wide trend was evident in all Member States except Greece. Finally, all of the companies involved in the survey were asked to identify those factors which they felt most hampered their innovative performance. The greatest complaint, cited by 21 per cent of enterprises, was that 'innovation costs are too high'. The lack of appropriate sources of finance was highlighted by 15 per cent of enterprises, while 13 per cent complained of a 'lack of qualified personnel'.