Articles
Growth is slowing in spending on research and development by large companies across the world, with the UK lagging behind other countries, a new study has found.
Germany accounted for 28% of total R&D spend in Europe, France 18%, and Switzerland 16%, while in Britain the figure is 11%, research by the consulting arm of PwC showed.
In contrast, innovation spending in China increased by 46% in the past year, it was reported.
Global spending on R&D as a percentage of total revenue has fallen by 17% since 2005, according to an analysis of investment by the 1,000 biggest spending companies in the world.
PwC spokesman Jens Nackmayr said: "We have found that companies across many sectors have been putting the brakes on their R&D spending. This may be because they're better at innovating today than they were a decade ago and it seems that they can now do more with less.
"What many highly innovative companies have in common is not a high level of R&D spending, but an understanding of end-users' wants and needs. Instead of depending on market research, these companies form strong connections with customers and innovate around their yet-to-be articulated needs."
A spokesman from the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills said: "The UK is a world leader in science and innovation, with the most productive science base in the G7. Government continues to protect the science and innovation budget and recent investments in quantum technologies, the Alan Turing Institute and high level skills brings the overall total investment in science and research 2015-16 to £5.9 billion.
"Private companies have an important role to play and that is why we are improving the visibility of R&D tax relief schemes and the Patent Box which offers 10% tax rate on profits attributable to patented inventions and innovations," he added.