Brazilian companies are expanding investment in innovation. This year, 81.2% of industries intend to invest in research and development (R&D), according to study Indicators of Industrial Competitiveness, published in São Paulo by the National Confederation of Industries (CNI) and the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae).
In 2003, the percentage of companies that invested in innovation was 70.7%.
The interest in technological development grew mainly among micro and small companies. In 2005, 74.7% of entrepreneurs of companies of this size showed interest in investing in the area, against 60.4% in 2003.
Among the medium and large companies, the intention of investing in R&D rose from 84.1% in 2003 to 88.8% this year. According to the CNI and Sebrae study, despite the high percentage of companies committed to innovation, most, 63.5%, intend to invest just 2% of gross revenues in technological development.
Another item that shows the industry’s interest in innovation is the expressive number of companies that say they purchased new machinery and equipment. In 2003, 81.2% of companies purchased domestic equipment. For 2005 the forecast is that 88.1% of establishments should invest in the renewal of capital goods.
Design
Design is also considered an important strategy for greater industrial competitiveness. The study shows that in 2003, around 50% of companies invested in design. The effort was greater in large establishments: 56.7% of medium and large companies invested in this activity, against 43.2% of micro and small companies.
According to the study, there was an increase in investment when compared to company gross revenues. In 2003, 18.7% of companies invested more than 2% of gross revenues in technology. For 2005, the forecast is that 30.6% of the companies should increase their investment in design.
The effort of investing in design has brought positive results for businessmen. Around 55.6% of medium and large companies stated that the strategy increased revenues, against 53.7% in micro and small companies. The sectors that presented the most expressive return in design were the pharmaceutical and food sectors.
For this year, apart from the purchase of machinery and equipment, design and training of human resources, Brazilian industries intend to invest mainly in the development of products and processes.
Investment is also forecasted in technology transfer and implementation of laboratories. Among the large companies, 76.5% stated that they intend to invest in new products and processes, 19.4% intend to invest in the establishment of laboratories and 31.6% in technology transfer.
The study also shows that the transport infrastructure in Brazil is another factor that still worries businessmen. The most serious item identified by companies is highway transport. The lack of satisfaction with highways reaches all sectors.
In 14 of the 27 sectors studied, more than 75% of companies were little satisfied or dissatisfied with highways, with special importance to the garment and accessory sectors. In the case of ports, 41.7% of companies showed they were little satisfied with the service.
For this study, a total of 743 businessmen were interviewed all around Brazil. The information in the study was collected through a questionnaire answered between October 2004 and March 2005.
CNI, Anba