Small and medium-sized businesses in Germany are failing to keep pace with large companies in their innovation activities. This is shown by a recent survey of more than 1,000 innovative companies conducted by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK). DIHK Managing Director Martin Wansleben calls the current development "worrying."
“While well over half of larger companies plan to expand their innovation activities in the coming year, the figure for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is just over 40 percent,”
Wansleben reported the survey results to "Welt am Sonntag," stating that this was a third less than in 2010.
“Too little to compete in the top league in the long run”
“Germany is in danger of falling behind in international competition if more and more SMEs withdraw from innovation,” warned Wansleben. “This development is particularly worrying given the increasing pressure to digitize.”
He cited the following as a brake on the innovation efforts of small and medium-sized businesses: Lack of skilled workers, excessive bureaucracy and lack of venture capital. The protection of intellectual property, such as patents, is also causing problems for companies.
“The bottom line is that companies only give the framework conditions for research and development in Germany a satisfactory rating,” said the DIHK Managing Director. “That’s not enough to compete in the top league in the long run.”
Especially the big ones are making progress
The challenges of digitalization are difficult for SMEs to meet under such conditions: “Although almost four out of ten companies want to digitalise operational processes more than before, and one in three companies wants to develop new products and services with the help of digital technologies – but it is mainly the big ones who make progress.“
To ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in rural areas, do not fall by the wayside in this development, they needed, above all, a nationwide broadband coverage, warned Wansleben. However, an innovation-friendly environment also includes a further Strengthening the “Mind” subjects in schools and reducing bureaucracy, for example in admission and approval procedures.
