40% of companies show high innovation-bases growth potential - WB
10:03
The World Bank Group conducted more than 500 face-to-face interviews with the top management of mostly small and medium size companies from four Polish regions: Dolnośląskie, Zachodniopomorskie, Świętokrzyskie and Śląskie. These discussions revealed that 40 percent of enterprises show high innovation-based growth potential. They are the “champions”, read a new report, Toward an Innovative Poland: The Entrepreneurial Discovery Process and Business Needs Analysis, launched on Friday in Warsaw.
The champions are characterized by high revenue growth rates, substantial investment in R&D, large export intensity, high proportion of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) employees, strong growth mind-set of the company’s management, and extensive networking with clients, suppliers, and other partners.
Interviews with entrepreneurs and “Smart Lab” workshops with representatives of business, science and research and development institutions, and public administration helped identify the most critical barriers to growth faced by Polish companies. These include access to financing, access to new markets, availability of skilled personnel, low levels of networking, availability of “soft” skills, and attitudes toward innovation among owners.
The interviews also showed that one fourth of firms are companies that do not yet seem to fully leverage their growth potential. They could grow much faster if they were “awakened” through, for instance, improved management practices, better access to “smart” financing and support for exports.
