EU RD Survey. The 2014 EU Survey on Industrial RD Investment Trends

摘要

This report presents the findings of the ninth survey on trends in industrial R&D investment. It analyses the 186 responses of mainly large firms from a subsample of 1000 EU-based companies in the 2013 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard. These 186 companies are responsible for R&D investment worth almost €60 billion, constituting around 36% of the total R&D investment by the 1000 EU Scoreboard companies.The main conclusion is that, between 2014-16, the responding companies expect to increase their R&D investments by 4.2% on average per year. This is about 50% higher than in the previous survey and mainly reflects the shift of expectations in the automobiles and parts sector, which come back to normal (4.6%) after last years' declared stagnation (-0.4%). The responding companies carry out one fifth of their R&D outside the EU. Their expectations for R&D investment for the next three years show continued participation of European companies in the global economy, in particular growth opportunities in emerging economies, while maintaining an R&D focus in the EU. Two thirds of the European companies in the sample chose their home country as the most attractive location for R&D, and identified the US, Germany, China and India as the most attractive locations outside their home country.