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to innovate: Those who participate in an R&D co-operation are usually charac-
terised by a relatively modern range of products and services.
Special emphasis of the analysis was put on the innovation process in Eastern
Germany. The share of companies that participate in R&D co-operations in
Eastern Germany is only slightly lower than in Western Germany. Meanwhile,
the quantity of R&D personnel became higher in Eastern Germany than in
Western Germany. In addition to that, companies in Eastern Germany are
more willing to spend a high share of their return on sales to invest in R&D then
those in Western Germany. This already effects the innovation performance of
these companies. Companies in Eastern Germany use modern technological
equipment and compete on the market with a young assortment of products.
These circumstances provide the basis not only for improving their competi-
tiveness but also to attract potential partners for future R&D co-operations. The
R&D co-operation can be expected to become even more popular especially
among the companies in Eastern Germany.
This expected development does not only indicate that companies in Eastern
Germany are on their way to catch up with those in Western Germany in terms
of competitiveness, it is also a sign that the potential of R&D co-operations is
not exhausted yet. But in this context it should not be overlooked that to a cer-
tain extent the innovation success of companies in Eastern Germany is based
on governmental subsidies. The success of companies who profit from these
subsidies shows that the programmes have indeed led to the intended effects.
A special emphasis has to be put on the role of universities and research or-
ganisations for the innovation system in Eastern Germany. R&D co-operations
with scientific institutions turned out to be especially favoured by companies in
Eastern Germany. The access to knowledge is owed to a good part to the will-
ingness of these institutes to co-operate with companies. Their attitude should
be an example also for other regions in the country.
From a macro-economic perspective it can be stressed that R&D co-operations
contribute to a more efficient use of the R&D resources. Such partnerships
also help to accelerate the spread of knowledge. That is why R&D co-
operations play an important role in the innovation process especially in the
Eastern part of Germany to close the technological gap.