Innovation

Innovation refers to the launch of a new or significantly improved product or service or the introduction of a new business process. The aim of innovation is to create value and gain a competitive advantage, which will benefit the enterprise’s development and increase productivity, simultaneously contributing to economic growth.

Product or process innovation can involve the application of new technological solutions, a new combination of existing technologies or the application of the knowledge available to the enterprise. However, innovation may not always result in the launch of a new product or service or improvement of a completed production process. Innovation activities may also be abandoned before the end result is achieved.

Innovation statistics provide information on

• how many Estonian enterprises are engaged in innovation;
• what kind of innovation is pursued by enterprises;
• what is the strategy of enterprises in innovation development, use of resources and innovation cooperation.

On the basis of innovation statistics, it is possible to analyse economic development trends, make decisions affecting the society and formulate innovation policy. The data are collected through the innovation survey of enterprises and allow comparing Estonian enterprises and their innovativeness with other European Union and OECD countries.