Industrial innovation in South Africa: a comparative study

INNOVATION IS WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS A driving force behind economic growth. Despite its importance, not much is known about the innovative behaviour of South African firms. In the study reported here, we compare South African companies with their counterparts in the European Union. A representative sample of 617 South African firms answered questions about their innovative behaviour in the period 1998-2000. We found that innovation outputs, the percentage of innovating businesses, were comparable in the two groups. However, the typical South African firm spends less on innovation than the average European company. We did not find a clear explanation for this distinction, and hence conclude that more research is needed to provide it.