Home > Statistics > Innovation > 2014 > Product and process innovation picking-up, digitalisation boosting business activity?

Published: 24 March 2016

Product and process innovation picking-up, digitalisation boosting business activity?

According to Statistics Finland's preliminary data, enterprises reported innovation activity related to products and processes more often in 2012 to 2014 than in the years preceding the survey period. Implementation of innovations grew especially among small service companies compared to the previous survey.

Implementation or product and process innovations in manufacturing and services by the size category of the enterprise in 2010 to 2012 and 2012 to 2014, share of enterprises

Nearly one-half, 48 per cent of the surveyed enterprises reported innovation activities related to products and processes and a majority of them, 45 per cent of all enterprises, also reported they had introduced product or process innovations. The share of enterprises that reported innovation activities increased by a few percentage points from the previous surveys.

In 2012 to 2014, altogether 38 per cent of manufacturing enterprises and 32 per cent of service industry enterprises introduced product innovations to the markets. In turn, good one-third of the surveyed manufacturing enterprises and 29 per cent of the surveyed service industry enterprises introduced process innovations.

By contrast, the prevalence of organisation and marketing innovations, 38 per cent, remained on level with previous years in terms of the overall picture.

Customers and product users can be a considerable resource for enterprises' innovation activities. As product users, corporate customers are more often visible as participants in the innovation than private consumers. Of all enterprises with innovation activity, around one-fifth, 22 per cent, viewed the importance of development work in cooperation with corporate users of their products as high or moderate. Around one in ten of enterprises with innovation activity, viewed development work with consumers as important (high or moderate importance).

One-fifth felt that products processed by corporate users were important in their innovation activity and in the production of innovative products. The corresponding result for products modified by consumers was nine per cent. New products developed by consumers played an important role for six per cent of enterprises with innovation activity, and around one in ten felt that new products developed by enterprises played an important role in their development activity.

The innovation survey also studied now for the first time the importance of digitalisation in enterprises' business activities and in the light of the preliminary results, digitalisation can be estimated to have a significant effect on enterprises' activities. Close on one-half of services industry enterprises estimated the importance of digital products as high or moderate, and 45 per cent felt, for example, that digitalisation was significant in the marketing of their products. The respective proportions in manufacturing were 22 and 30 per cent.

Around one-third of all enterprises estimated that the role of cloud services, the Internet of things and digitalisation in the production of their products, as well as in the distribution of products, is important. These were seen as important in the business activities of service industry enterprises more often than among manufacturing enterprises. By contrast, the utilisation of robotics is naturally more common among manufacturing enterprises than in service industry enterprises. Fourteen per cent of manufacturing enterprises considered digitalisation to be important in design and 22 per cent of service industry enterprises. Good one-fifth of all enterprises felt that the role of social media was high or considerable, the importance being higher for services than manufacturing.

The importance of digitalisation in enterprises' business activities in 2012 to 2014, share of enterprises

The survey results will be published in full in June 2016.

Source: Innovation 2014, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Mervi Niemi 029 - 551 3263, Heidi Pirkola 029 - 551 3246, tiede.teknologia@stat.fi

Director in charge: Mari Ylä-Jarkko

Publication in pdf-format (300.0 kB)

Tables

Tables in databases

Pick the data you need into tables, view the data as graphs, or download the data for your use.

• Database tables and their variables
• Archived tables

Appendix tables

• Appendix table 1. Prevalence of innovation activity relating to products and processes by size category of personnel, 2012-2014, share of enterprises (24.3.2016)
• Appendix table 2. Prevalence of innovation activity relating to products and processes by industry, 2012-2014, share of enterprises (24.3.2016)
• Appendix table 3. Prevalence of marketing and organisational innovations by size category of personnel, 2012-2014, share of enterprises (24.3.2016)
• Appendix table 4. Prevalence of marketing and organisational innovations by industry, 2012-2014, share of enterprises (24.3.2016)
• Appendix table 5. The importance of digitalisation for enterprise's business activity 2012-2014, share of enterprises (24.3.2016)
• Appendix table 6. Share of enterprises with innovation activity, who estimated user innovation to be of high or medium importance in 2012 to 2014, by size category of personnel (24.3.2016)
• Appendix table 7. Share of enterprises with innovation activit, who estimated user innovation to be of high or medium importance in 2012 to 2014 by industry (24.3.2016)

---

Updated 24.3.2016