According to a new study, small and medium-sized enterprises should be investing more in innovation. Otherwise, "hundreds of companies and thousands of employees would be at risk of falling behind if competitive conditions change as a result of increasing digitalization and new competitors," according to a representative study commissioned by the Bertelsmann Foundation. SMEs are particularly important because they employ almost 58 percent of all employees subject to social insurance contributions in Germany.
According to the "Innovation Atlas," published on Wednesday, only a few companies in Germany currently have the necessary innovative strength to secure their competitive position in the long term. Around a quarter of German companies are characterized by their innovative spirit and technological leadership. However, 46 per cent of the companies are to be classified as rather lacking in innovation. For the study, IW Consult surveyed more than 1,000 companies from industry and industry-related services.
According to the survey, the pharmaceutical and chemical industries as well as the metal and electrical industries are the leaders in terms of innovation culture, with logistics and wholesale trade being the lowest. "Made in Germany" could turn from a bestseller to being left on the shelf, warned the foundation's economic expert Armando Garcia Schmidt. And: "The more innovative a company, the greater its economic success and the more dynamically its workforce grows." Schmidt called for an active economic policy, including investments in classic and digital infrastructure.
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