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Gunter Grittmann
Head of Information and Communication
E-mail: grittmann@zew.de
Phone: +49 (0)621-1235-132
Fax: +49 (0)621-1235-255
Kathrin Böhmer
Public Relations Officer
E-mail: boehmer@zew.de
Phone: +49 (0)621-1235-103
Fax: +49 (0)621-1235-255
Companies in Germany intensified their innovation efforts during the economic crisis of 2009. These efforts turned out to be rewarding. In 2010, companies were able to increase their revenues by introducing new products. Fundamentally new innovations - "market novelties" - have sold particularly well and export-oriented sectors have been most successful in selling new products. The strong position of German companies in international markets is thus a result not only of cost advantages, but also of a competitive edge in terms of innovation. These are the findings of the recently published 2011 German Innovation Survey. The survey was commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research and carried out by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovations Research as well as the Institute for Applied Social Sciences (infas). read more
Many business ideas of newly founded companies were developed while the founders were employed at private companies. New start-ups based on such ideas are considerably more innovative than other start-ups. Moreover, they produce a considerably higher percentage of market innovations. This is one of the main findings of the latest KfW/ZEW Start-Up Panel, which is conducted by KfW Bankengruppe in cooperation with the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim, and the credit rating agency Creditreform. read more
Young firms in Germany have coped considerably well with the economic crisis. Their turnover and profit situation proved stable and, according to the firms, will improve next year. "Young firms consider themselves well positioned after the economic and financial crisis. The positive profit expectations for 2010 confirm this. The firms have actively faced the crisis and have concentrated on their strengths by adjusting their products to their clients’ demands. At the same time, young firms have invested less then they had planned due to financing problems," says Dr. Axel Nawrath, member of Managing Board of KfW Bankengruppe, today at the press conference on the "KfW/ZEW Start-up Panel 2010" in Frankfurt. The third KfW/ZEW Start-up Panel, a cooperation of KfW Bankengruppe, the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) Mannheim and credit rating agency Creditreform, analyses the development of economically active start-ups since their foundation. read more
The effective use of modern information and communication technologies requires a high-performance broadband infrastructure. The European Commission (EU 2020 strategy) and the German government (broadband strategy) call for a massive expansion of broadband internet access. A current ZEW study supported by Deutsche Telekom AG indicates that broadband internet access gives significant impulses to firms in Germany and makes them more innovative. In the early phase of the DSL expansion from 2001 to 2003, firms using broadband internet access were able to increase the probability of realizing product and process innovations by 25 percentage points on average. Broadband internet gave impulses for innovations particularly in the service sector. read more
The financial and economic crisis also affects start-ups and young firms.48 percent of young firms in Germany stated that they were affected by negative consequences of the economic and financial crisis in the early summer 2009. The order situation (41 percent report less orders) and turnover and profit situation (43 percent and 40 percent report a worse situation) were particularly affected. These are the findings of the KfW/ZEW-Gründungspanel, which tracks start-ups from their foundation and reports their development over time. The findings of a second survey including start-ups of the years 2005 to 2008 were presented today by KfW, ZEW and Creditform representatives in the KfW Bankengruppe in Frankfurt. read more