Benchmarking Regional Innovation: A Comparison of Bavaria, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland



Table 2: Regional Innovation Benchmarks: 1999

Northern

Ireland

Republic of

Ireland

Bavaria

Constraints on Innovation (% plants)

Riskiness of Innovation

21.9

22.3

31.8

Low Expected Rate of return

39.7

37.6

44.2

Attitudinal barriers

7.5

12.4

8.5

Lack of finance

29.9

30.3

33.9

Few market opportunities

25.1

27.5

37.7

Lack of information

9.5

14.5

11.6

Legislative requirements

11.7

16.8

22.8

Lack of partners

6.4

10.6

10.6

Lack of expertise

17.8

28.4

14.1

Objectives of Innovation (% plants)

Replace existing products

54.7

48.7

47.3

Extend product range

77.9

78.9

77.3

Increase market share

80.9

75.5

92.3

Enter new mkts

69.6

63.5

64.9

Reduce production costs

48.7

40.5

57.9

Environmentally friendly products

23.9

27.6

28.1

Improve product quality

71.3

64.8

74.6

Match competitors

61.6

54.9

27.6

Undertaking R&D (% of Plants)

51.9

56.3

55.0

Graduates (% of workforce)

7.1

8.9

8.0

Multifunctional Working (% plants)

Identifying New Products

60.6

65.3

42.1

Prototype Development

52.2

60.9

32.1

Final Product Design

65.8

62.5

45.9

Product Testing

74.1

74.0

55.5

Production Engineering

54.0

41.7

18.2

Market Research

25.7

24.2

7.5

Developing Market Strategy

27.4

23.8

6.0

Links to Innovation Partners (% plants)

Other Group Companies

22.5

28.9

17.0

Clients/Customers

31.4

32.8

23.3

Suppliers

31.0

34.6

28.4

Competitors

8.6

9.3

5..3

Consultants

16.2

25.4

11.6

Govt Research Labs

8.3

12.1

5.9

Industry Operated Labs

7.8

9.9

7.5

Private Research Institutes

8.2

9.8

4.2

University/Higher Education

18.3

19.1

14.4

Product Innovation (% plants)

62.8

67.2

70.3

Sales as % New Products

15.9

17.4

20.5

Sources: See text.

24



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