INNOVATION-ACTIVE BUSINESSES AND COLLABORATION


Measuring collaboration provides insight into the linkages between businesses, particularly innovation-active businesses and other organisations. Linkages are important in understanding the business dynamics of initiating pooled undertakings of innovation. Collaboration is defined as the arrangement where businesses work together for mutual benefit, including some sharing of technical and commercial risk. Each participant in the collaboration did not need to benefit commercially. The BCS collected from all businesses the type of collaborative arrangement businesses were involved in; and for innovation-active businesses, whether that collaboration was for innovation purposes, and if so, the type of organisation they had collaborated with and the location of that organisation.


TYPE OF COLLABORATIVE ARRANGEMENT

All businesses were asked to report the type of collaborative arrangements they had been involved in during the 2014-15 period. More than one type of collaborative arrangement could be reported. The focus in this release is on innovation-active businesses and their collaborative arrangements. The complete data for all businesses will be released in August as part of Selected Characteristics of Australian Business, 2014-15 (cat. no. 8167.0).

Innovation-active businesses: Type of collaborative arrangement, by employment size(a)(b), 2014-15
	0-4 persons	5-19 persons	20-199 persons	200 or more persons	Total
	%	%	%	%	%
Joint research and development	3.5	3.5	4.5	9.4	3.7
Joint buying	2.0	2.3	2.3	6.2	2.2
Joint production of goods or services	4.1	4.6	7.5	11.3	4.7
Integrated supply chain	0.8	2.7	2.0	8.4	1.7
Joint marketing or distribution	4.9	9.1	8.9	10.6	7.0
Other collaborative arrangements	1.1	1.7	0.9	1.9	1.3
Any collaborative arrangements	12.7	15.8	19.4	28.0	14.8
(a) Proportions are of innovation-active businesses in each output category.
(b) Businesses could identify more than one type of collaboration and they were not required to indicate if the type of collaboration was for innovation or general business purposes.

Overall, 15% of innovation-active businesses had at least one type of collaborative arrangement during the year ended 30 June 2015. Joint marketing or distribution was the most common of the collaborative arrangements listed, at 7%.

The proportion of innovation-active business with any collaborative arrangements increased with each successive employment size range, from 13% of innovation-active businesses with 0-4 persons employed to 28% of innovation-active businesses with 200 or more persons employed.

By industry, the proportion of innovation-active businesses involved in at least one type of collaborative arrangement ranged from 6% in Accommodation and food services to 26% in Information media and telecommunications. Innovation-active businesses in Wholesale trade and Mining had the highest proportion of integrated supply chain collaboration (both 5%).


COLLABORATION PARTNERS

Businesses with any innovative activity during 2014-15 were asked to indicate the type and location of the business(es) they collaborated with for the purpose of innovation. Businesses could select more than one type of organisation and were asked to indicate if that organisation was located within Australia or overseas. Overall, suppliers of equipment, materials, components or software were the most common collaboration partners for innovation-active businesses in any location, at 41%.

Innovation-active businesses: Collaboration for innovation, by location of organisation, by type of organisation collaborated with(a)(b), 2014-15
		Within Australia	Overseas	Any location
		%	%	%
Other business(es) related to the business		14.2	1.8	15.8
Clients, customers or buyers		36.5	5.4	38.3
Suppliers of equipment, materials, components or software		36.0	8.7	41.1
Competitors and other businesses from the same industry		22.8	3.3	24.4
Consultants		30.0	3.7	31.5
Universities or other higher education institutions		4.8	1.0	5.1
Other research institutions:
	Private non-profit	5.3	0.8	5.3
	Government/public	2.6	-	2.6
	Commercial	2.6	-	2.6
Government agencies (excluding government research institutions)		7.0	-	7.0
Other organisations		1.9	np	1.9
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells).
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated.
(a) Proportions are of innovation-active businesses that reported collaboration for innovative purposes.
(b) Businesses could identify more than one location and/or type of organisation.

For innovation-active businesses the most common collaboration partners within Australia were clients, customers or buyers and suppliers of equipment, materials, components or software (both 36%), while the most common overseas organisations were suppliers of equipment, materials, components or software (9%).

The proportion of innovation-active businesses that collaborated with other business(es) related to the business within Australia increased with each successive employment size range, from 10% of innovation-active businesses with 0-4 persons employed to 35% of innovation-active businesses with 200 or more persons employed.

Within Australia, over half of all innovation-active businesses in the Accommodation and food services industry collaborated with suppliers of equipment, materials, components or software for the purposes of innovation (54%).

Further data relating to collaboration by innovation-active businesses can be accessed via the Downloads tab.