Innovation expenditures in European industry
The European Innovation Monitoring System (EIMS), part of the Communities' INNOVATION programme, has published a report on "Innovation expenditures in European industry". Using data from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS), the report analyses expenditures on innovation by European firms. In particular, it examines the level and structure of three types of innovation investment across European industry: research and development (R&D), non-R&D expenditure (including product design, trail production, training, etc.), and capital investments linked to the innovation of new products. The report sought to explore two main issues: - To what extent does the level of innovation expenditure differ according to industry sector and from country to country? - How does the composition of innovation investment vary across industries and from country to country? The main results of the analysis carried out are as follows: - Innovating firms commit significant resources to innovation, ranging from 7-8% of turnover in traditional industries to 12-15% in high-tech sectors; - The composition of innovation expenditures varies, with between 10-25% made up of R&D, roughly 30% non R&D expenditures, and between 40% and 60% going on capital investments; - The levels of innovation expenditure (measured in terms of innovation expenditures as a proportion of turnover) are very similar across European industries in different Member States. The intensity of innovation expenditure reflects features of the industry rather than country-specific features; - There is considerable inter-industry variation in the composition of innovation expenditures. These differences are largely consistent from country to country.