7. Enterprises’ strategies and innovation activity
In the survey, one background question inquired how important certain strategies were for the enterprise's activity in 2014 to 2016.
For example, 89 per cent of enterprises replied that improving existing goods and services had high or medium importance as a strategy. Of those having assessed this, 46 per cent introduced product innovations to the markets in 2014 to 2016, and 43 per cent reported process innovations. In all, 68 per cent reported innovation activity.
The share of enterprises with innovation activity among those responding that improvement of products was a highly important strategy, instead of high or medium, was even higher. The share of enterprises having brought product innovations to the market was 53 per cent and three out of four enterprises reported innovation activity.
For enterprises that said introducing new products had been the strategy, reporting innovations was even more common than above. If introducing new products had high importance as a strategy, the share of those having reported product innovations was 72 per cent, and 86 per cent had had innovation activity.
In practice, enterprises that focused on the said targets in their strategy also reported innovations more often. Enterprises that recorded the said strategies as non-relevant did not have much innovation activity.
Table 2. Enterprises’ strategies by importance of strategy 2014–2016, share of enterprises
Importance of strategy high or medium |
Importance of strategy high |
Importance of strategy medium |
Importance of strategy low |
||
% | % | % | % | ||
Improving existing goods and services | 89.4 | 50.8 | 38.6 | 6.1 | |
Offering entirely new goods and services | 69.0 | 28.5 | 40.5 | 22.3 | |
Reaching new customer groups | 77.6 | 39.9 | 37.7 | 15.0 | |
Customer-specific solutions | 81.7 | 43.5 | 38.2 | 12.3 | |
Low prices | 54.7 | 11.3 | 43.4 | 34.6 |
Table 3. Prevalence of innovation activity among those that assessed the said strategies as important in 2014 to 2016, share of enterprises having assessed the strategies as having high or medium importance
Product innovations | Process innovations | Innovation activity related to products and processes | Innovation activity | ||
% of enterprises that assessed strategy as having high or medium importance |
% of enterprises that assessed strategy as having high or medium importance |
% of enterprises that assessed strategy as having high or medium importance |
% of enterprises that assessed strategy as having high or medium importance |
||
Improving existing goods and services | 46,2 | 43,4 | 61,5 | 68,2 | |
Offering entirely new goods and services | 55,2 | 47,6 | 68,7 | 75,1 | |
Reaching new customer groups | 48,3 | 44,6 | 63,3 | 69,9 | |
Customer-specific solutions | 45,4 | 43,3 | 60,8 | 68,0 | |
Low prices | 40,1 | 39,5 | 56,1 | 63,9 |
Source: Innovation 2016, Statistics Finland
Inquiries: Mervi Niemi 029 551 3263, Heidi Pirkola 029 551 3246, tiede.teknologia@stat.fi
Director in charge: Sami Saarikivi
Updated 12.4.2018
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF):
Innovation [e-publication].
ISSN=1797-4399. 2016,
7. Enterprises’ strategies and innovation activity
. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 14.11.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/inn/2016/inn_2016_2018-04-12_kat_007_en.html