Survey Results: Innovation in Cypriot Enterprises

2006 – 2008

On the basis of the results of the Innovation Survey carried out by the Statistical Service among enterprises with 10 or more employees, 56,1% of enterprises had some form of innovation activity during the period 2006-2008. Among industrial enterprises, this proportion stood at 63,2% compared to 49,4% in the services sector. Of the total enterprises, 8,1% were active in (product and/or process) technological innovation only, 13,2% in non technological (organisational and/or marketing) innovation only and 34,9% were both technologically and non technologically active. With regard to the size-class breakdown, the larger the enterprise the more likely it was to have had some form of innovation activity during the enterprises with 50-249 employees and 80,7% for enterprises with 250 and more employees. The proportion of innovative enterprises in Cyprus (56,1%) fairs quite favourably with regard to the respective proportion for the EU Member States, which stands at 51,6% on average. The highest proportions of enterprises with innovation activity were recorded in Germany (79,9%), Luxembourg (64,7%) and Belgium (58,1%) and the lowest in Latvia (24,3%), Poland (27,9%) and Hungary (28,9%). According to 77,3% of all enterprises with technological innovation activity in Cyprus, innovation was regarded as highly important for improving the quality of their goods and services, 66,4% for replacing outdated products or processes, 64,4% for improving their production flexibility, 63,4% for increasing the range of their goods or services, 62,0% for increasing their market share, 61,4% for increasing their capacity for producing goods or services, 45,1% for entering new markets, 40,5% for improving health and safety and 37,0% for reducing labour costs per unit output. Additional information on the subject can be downloaded from the web site of the Statistical Service.

STATISTICAL SUBTHEME: INNOVATION