Table of contents:
- Innovative ability greatly improved
- Picture gallery
- Entrepreneurial courage for innovations is lacking

Video: German Industrial Companies Spend More Money On Innovations

The Industry Innovation Index, a specially developed indicator to measure the ability to innovate within German industry, reached a level of 143.5 points in 2016. For the third time in a row, the specialty chemicals group Altana had 250 top decision-makers and 250 young professionals from German industrial companies surveyed by the Forsa Institute.
Innovative ability greatly improved
This is an increase of four points compared to 2015. Managers in particular rate their company's ability to innovate better than in the previous year. With 48%, almost every second person sees his company as "very innovative"; In 2015 it was 43%. The comparison group of young professionals also rated their employers better: 44% currently perceive their company as very innovative (2015: 42%).
Picture gallery
Picture gallery with 5 pictures
The increased ability to innovate is largely due to an improved innovation culture in companies. In particular, more freedom for innovations was created. The proportion of managers who see scope for individual employees in their companies has increased by 13 percentage points. This development coincides with the trend from hierarchical to more collaborative management styles within companies. The fact that this freedom is a key prerequisite for the development of new approaches is evidently anchored in the management of industrial companies.
It also fits that 24% of managers and 16% of young professionals see freedom of design as a decisive criterion so that companies can produce groundbreaking innovations. However, young specialists do not perceive the creation of further freedom as much as managers do. The proportion of young professionals who see great freedom in their company has only increased from 22 to 23%.
Entrepreneurial courage for innovations is lacking
Both managers and young professionals see potential for improvement there. Only nine% of managers say that risk-taking has been implemented in their company - a decrease of five percentage points compared to the previous year. Newcomers see a slightly higher risk tolerance at 17%; In 2015 it was 19%.
“In order to enable innovations, it is crucial to constantly question established procedures and, if in doubt, to tread fewer paths. For this, a corporate culture that gives room for maneuver and also allows mistakes is essential,”explains Martin Babilas, CEO of Altana.
In addition to promoting an innovation culture, higher investments also contribute to the increased ability to innovate in German industry. In 2015, one in three managers indicated that their company would increase investment in innovation projects. These investments appear to be starting to pay off. After all, every third industrial company plans to spend more on innovation in 2016.
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