Research and development in the business enterprise sector, 2012, preliminary figures

Preliminary figures for 2012 show that enterprises with at least 10 employees performed R&D for NOK 21.3 billion, which is NOK 1.2 billion more than in 2011. In addition, enterprises with 5-9 employees performed R&D for NOK 1.8 billion in 2012. These enterprises carried out 1 700 R&D man-years.

In the survey, enterprises also provide estimated R&D expenditure and R&D man-years in the current year. The estimates given in the second quarter of 2013 indicate approximately unchanged R&D effort in 2013. It is important to note that these estimates are uncertain, and they are often lower than the final results.

The distribution of R&D expenditure by type of cost does not change much from year to year. Compensation of employees is the largest component, with 65 per cent of R&D expenditure in 2012.

More enterprises with R&D

The number of enterprises reporting R&D has increased. This is especially the case for small enterprises, but also for larger enterprises. The share of enterprises that perform R&D is 20 per cent; about 1 percentage point higher than the year before. This share is clearly highest for the largest enterprises, and constitutes 53 per cent of enterprises with at least 500 employees.

Growth in both large and small enterprises

The R&D effort has increased among both small and large enterprises. The percentage increase was greatest among small enterprises, but the uncertainty is also greatest for small enterprises. Enterprises with 10-49 employees had an increase of 16 per cent, and carried out R&D for NOK 5.2 billion in 2012.

In comparison, R&D expenditure in enterprises with at least 500 employees increased by 10 per cent to NOK 8.8 billion. This growth is largely due to increased R&D activity among individual enterprises within the manufacturing and oil and gas extraction. Although there has been overall growth among the large enterprises, there are also some large R&D enterprises that have had a significant decline in R&D expenditure from 2011. The 50 enterprises that reported the most R&D in the previous survey have as a whole experienced a decline of R&D expenditure from 2011 to 2012.

For R&D man-years, there is also a larger increase among enterprises with 10-49 employees; 8 per cent compared with 4 per cent in the group of enterprises with at least 500 employees.

Increased purchases of R&D services

In addition to the R&D the enterprises perform themselves, they are often dependent on expertise outside their own company. In 2012, Norwegian enterprises therefore acquired R&D services from others for almost NOK 6 billion, which is 10 per cent more than in 2011. The purchases are made with other enterprises, research institutes, universities or university colleges, both nationally and internationally.

It is especially the largest enterprises that purchase R&D services from others. Enterprises with more than 500 employees accounted for almost half of this trade in the business enterprise sector.

Other industries (including extraction of oil and gas) acquired such services for NOK 2.5 billion; an increase of 25 per cent from the year before.