8166.0 - Summary of IT Use and Innovation in Australian Business, 2007-08

Contents >> INNOVATION IN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS >> Innovation-active businesses

INNOVATION-ACTIVE BUSINESSES

Summary of innovative activity in Australian business, by employment size(a), 2007 - 08

			0 - 4 persons	5 - 19 persons	20 - 199 persons	200 or more persons	Total

Estimated number of businesses(b)		'000	451	197	60	3	711
Businesses which introduced innovation (innovating businesses)		%	31.6	49.8	60.0	65.9	39.1
Businesses with innovative activity which was:
	still in development	%	17.9	28.6	35.5	46.2	22.5
	abandoned	%	5.7	9.4	8.4	6.8	6.9
Businesses with any innovative activity (innovation-active businesses)		%	37.0	56.1	65.9	70.8	44.9

(a) Proportions are of all businesses in each employment size category.
(b) Business counts are provided for contextual information only, please refer to Explanatory Notes 20 and 21.

The proportion of businesses that were innovation-active was greater for each successive employment size group, ranging from 37% of businesses employing 0-4 persons to almost double this proportion for businesses with 200 or more persons employed (71%).

In considering these results, users should take into account the populations for each of the employment size groups. For example, for businesses with 200 or more persons employed, an innovation-active rate of 71% represents approximately 2,100 businesses, whereas an innovation-active rate of 37% for businesses with 0-4 employees represents approximately 167,000 businesses.

Proportion of businesses that were innovation-active, by industry, 2007-08
Graph: Proportion of businesses that were innovation-active, by industry, 2007-08

Graph: Proportion of businesses that were innovation-active, by industry, 2007-08

The highest proportion of innovative activity was reported by businesses within Wholesale trade (59%). The industry reporting the lowest proportion of innovative activity was Construction, at 31%.