Industrial companies spent 0.71% of their net sales revenue on research and development in 2011. This percentage was above the 0.62% spent in 2008, according to the Survey of Innovation (PINTEC) 2011. The survey also shows that between 2009 and 2011, 35.7% of the 128,699 companies with ten or more employed persons accounted for innovations in terms of products and/or processes. The electricity and gas sector, included in PINTEC for the first time, reached a rate of 44.1%. Among selected services, 36.8% of the companies promoted innovation n 2011, whereas in industry, 35.6% did the same. Except for industry, which reached an innovation rate of 38.1% in 2008, the other results are not directly comparable with those in previous editions of the survey, due to the inclusion in PINTEC of the electricity and gas sector and of services of engineering, architecture, tests and technical analyses. Investments in innovative activities reached R$ 64.9 billion in 2011, that is, 2,56% of the net revenue of sales of companies.

PINTEC also shows that, for the first time, the lack of qualified professionals appears as one of the two main obstacles to innovation in industry. A total 72.5% of the industrial companies consider this fact a problem of major or medium importance, being second to high costs (81.7%) only.

Between 2009 and 2011, among the almost 46 thousand innovative companies regarding products and processes in Brazil, 85.9% were responsible for at least one instance of organizational innovation and 60.7% for some market-related innovation.  Besides, companies which made use of biotechnology and nanotechology promoted more innovation than the others:  65.1% of the 1,820 companies which conducted any type of activity of use, production and research and development (P&D) related to biotechnology were innovative; among the 1,132 companies which developed these activities in nanotechnology, 86.1% were.

PINTEC also shows that, in industrial companies, acquisition of machinery and equipment remains as the most important activity in the structure of expenditure on innovation, with total expenditure of 1.11% over the net revenue of sales, a result which reinforces the trend already observed in previously conducted surveys. 

The complete publication is available at https://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/economia/industria/pintec/2011/default.shtm.

More than one third (35.7%) of the companies promoted innovations between 2009 and 2011

Among the 128,699 companies with ten or more employed persons between 2009 and 2011, 45,950 implemented new products or processes or promoted their improvement, with an overall innovation rate of 35.7%. In industry (35.6%), there was decrease in relation to 2008, when 38.1% of the companies had been innovative. Considering selected services, 36.8% of the companies promoted innovations in the period. Among companies of the electricity and gas sector, 44.1% were innovative.

In industry, there was predominance of companies which promoted innovations in processes only (18.3%), followed by innovative ones regarding both product and process (13.4%). Only 3.9% promoted just product innovation. Among selected services, 21.8% of the enterprises promoted innovation both in product and in process; 9.7% were innovative only in terms of processes and 5.4% only in terms of products. Among companies of the electricity and gas sector, 41.9% of the companies promoted only process innovations, 1.8% product and process and 0.4%, only product innovations.

Acquisition of machinery and equipment is the main activity in 73.5% of the innovative companies

Between 2009 and 2011, the acquisition of machinery and equipment remained being regarded as an activity of high or medium importance by 73.5% of the innovative companies. Other important activities were training (59.5%) and software acquisition (33.2%). In industry, this order was maintained, and acquisition of machinery and equipment was the most relevant activity according to 75.9% of the companies, followwd by training (59.7%) and software acquisition (31.6%). Considering selected services, training was regarded as the most relevant activity by 57.0% of the companies, followed by acquisition of machinery and equipment (51.9%). On the other hand, external acquisition of R&D (with 6.4% in industry and 12.0% in selected services) is considered less important for both.  In electricity and gas companies, the activities related to training (67.6%) and software acquisition (65.5%) were the most relevant ones.

Companies invest R$ 65 billion in innovative activities

In 2011, the expenditure of companies on innovative activities was R$ 64.9 billion, that is, 2,56% of their net revenue of sales. In industry, the acquisition of machinery and equipment remains as the most important activity in the structure of expenditure on innovation, representing 1.1% of the net revenue of sales.  In terms of selected services, the two main positions belong to internal R&D activities (1.82%) and acquisition of machinery and equipment (1.38%).  In the electricity and gas sector, the highest expenditure referred to R&D activities: external acquisition of R&D (0.83%) and internal R&D activities (0.23%).

16.3% of the innovative companies had expenditure on research and development

Approximately 7.5 thousand innovative companies (16.3%) invested in internal R&D activities in 2011. Among them, 78.9% (5.9 thousand) were industrial companies, 20.2% (1.5 thousand) companies of selected services and 0.9% (65) of electricity and gas. In relation to the proportion of net revenue of sales aimed at internal R&D activities of innovative companies, the main expenditure referred to research and development (89.63%), development of non-customized software (5.41%), and data treatment, Internet hosting and other related activities (1.88%) and activities of information technology services (1.62%).  

As for expenditure on internal R&D in industry, there was increase of participation in the total expenditure on innovation, which changed from 24.49% (R$ 10.7 billion) in 2008 to 29.78% (R$ 15.2 billion) in 2011. The relationship between expenditure on internal R&D and net revenue of sales in industrial companies also increased, having changed from 0.62% in 2008 to 0.71% in 2001.

About 103.3 thousand persons were employed in R&D activities, being 71.3 thousand in industry, 31.2 thousand in selected services and 748 in electricity and gas companies. There was increase of 48.4% in the number of persons dedicated to R&D activities in industrial companies in relation to the previous edition of the survey (48.1 thousand persons). Besides, about 65.3% of the persons employed in R&D activities of innovative companies are researchers, 26.4%, technicians and 8.4%, assistants.  In relation to the qualification level, 69.2% had a higher education degree, among whom 58.5% had only a higher education certificate and 10.7%, a post graduation one. Out of the 71.5 thousand persons employed in R&D activities who had a higher education degree, 78.1% (55.8 thousand) were researchers. Among these, 16.4% had a post-graduation certificate and 17.2%, an elementary or high school certificate.  Among the persons employed as technicians, 57.4% had a higher education degree.

Innovations mean positive impacts in 97.1% of the companies

Between 2009 and 2011, 97.1% of the innovative companies considered at least one of the impacts or innovations of high or medium relevance. In industry, the proportion of persons who declared to have obtained some type of relevant impact from innovation was 97.0%, whereas in the period 2006-2008 this percentage was 86.8%. In selected services, the proportiom was 97.6%, whereas in electricity and gas companies it was 90.9%.

In industrial companies, the main impact of innovations was related to the capacity to maintain company participation in the market (83.4%). The innovations which improved the quality of goods and services is second in the list, with relevant impacts in 81.7% of the innovative industrial companies. In selected services, the main impacts of innovation were the improvement in the quality of goods and services (84.6%) and the increase of capacity to produce or render services (79.1%). In electricity and gas companies, besides the improvement of the quality of goods and services as the main impact of innovation (84.9%), the impacts related to the reduction of costs stand out as relevant: reduction of labor costs (79.4%), reduction of costs of production or of serrvices rendered (79.0%) and reduction of the consumption of energy (64.4%).

Among the least relevant impacts, industrial companies mentioned environmental ones: on the consumption of water (15.2%), of energy (28.6%), of raw material (31.6%) and  of the environment itself (38.3%). In selected services, the least relevant impacts were those about the consumption of energy (15.7%), the environment (31.2%) and about aspects related to health and security (38.2%). In electricity and gas companies, the least relevant categories of impact were those related to the market and health and security: opening of new markets (4.3%), increase of the participation of the companies in the market (7.1%), increase of the offer of goods and services (18.5%) and aspects related to health and security (20.0%).

One fourth of the innovative companies used financing of machinery and equipment

The main instrument used by companies for the implementation of innovations was financing for the purchase of machinery and equipment (25.6%). There are other support programs (7.9%) which aggregate the scholarships offered by the National Council for Technological and Scientific Development (CNPQ), programs of risky capital investment of BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) and FINEP (Brazilian Innovation Agency), governmental purchase, incentive to R&D, among others. The least used ones were grant-in-aid (1.0%) and financing of R&D and technological innovation products in partnership with universities or survey institutes (1.3%).

Lack of qualified professionals is an obstacle to innovation according to 72.5% of the innovative companies

The first four editions of PINTEC showed that problems and economic obstacles prevailed upon other factors concerning the implementation of innovations, especially the high costs, the scarcity of proper funding sources and the economic risks. In 2011, a non strictly economic difficulty was raised by industrial companies: 72.5% of them ranked the lack of qualified professionals as a problem of high or medium importance, being second to costs only (81.7%). The third position was occupied by risks (71.3%), followed by the scarcity of funding sources (63.1%).

High costs were also the most relevant obstacles in selected services (81.5%) and in electricity and gas (83.2%). However, there were differences regarding the second and the third positions, since risks (73.8%) and the lack of qualified professionals (72.1%) were the second and third most commented difficulties according to innovative service companies. In the sector of electricity and gas, they mentioned organizational strictness (81.5%) and risks (80.0%) in the second and third positions, respectively.

As for reasons not to innovate presented by companies which did not promote innovations in the period 2009-2011, market conditions were appointed by 66.1% of the companies in industry, 72.6% in the electricity and gas sector and 44.4% in the services one.

Almost 40 thousand companies implemented organizational and/or market innovations

Between 2009 and 2011, among the almost 46 thousand innovative companies regarding products and processes in

Brazil, 85.9% were responsible for at least one instance of organizational and/or market innovation and 60.7%, for some marketing-related innovation. The percentage of industries which promoted at least one instance of organizational and/or market innovation was 85.5%, whereas 76.9% promoted at least one instance of organizational innovation and 60.9%, of marketing innovation. In services, these percentages were higher, given 4.3 thousand innovative companies: 89.5%, 79.6% and 61.5%, respectively.  In the electricity and gas sector, 86.1% of the 222 companies promoted innovated in some organizational and/or marketing technique. All of them promoted at least one type of organizational innovation, which means that, among the 28 companies (12.8%) which had some type of marketing innovation, all of them did it simultaneously to organizational ones.  

Companies which made use of biotechnology and nanotechology promoted a greater level of innovation

In 2011, 1,820 companies declared to have conducted some activity related to the use, production and research and development of biotechnology, and 65.1% of them were innovative ones. Out of the 1,132 companies which performed these activities for nanotechnology, 86.1% were innovative. Industrial companies which developed nanotechnology activities recorded higher innovation rates (86.2%) than biotechnology ones (63.3%). In services, on the other hand, the companies which conducted biotechnology activities (97.3%) were more innovative than those using nanotechnology (83.6%).

In industry, 2.6% of the innovative companies performed biotechnology activities, whereas this proportion was 2.3% for nanotechnology.  In services, these proportions were smaller: 1.8% of the innovative companies conducted activities in biotechnology and 0.2% in nanotechnology.