German Business in China – Greater Shanghai Innovation Survey 2018/19
The three statements above show the extent to which surveyed manufacturing companies
encourage innovation through management behavior. 60% of respondents agree or
strongly agree that managers in their Chinese entity encourage employees to attempt to
solve problems; 46% agree or strongly agree that managers encourage employees to
think outside of the box; 41% agree or strongly agree that original ideas are highly valued
in their Chinese entity. These results suggest that management in many organizations
focuses more on reactive problem-solving than on active generation of original ideas.
In general, top management of our Chinese entity favors …
Half of the surveyed manufacturing companies indicate that the management of their
Chinese entity favors technological leadership and innovations over proven and tested
products and services.
Only one third of respondents, however, say that management prefers high-risk projects
with chances of very high return over low-risk projects with normal and certain rates of
return, indicating a rather cautious attitude.
Optimistic expectation of innovation output
Introducing new products appears to be vital for establishing and maintaining a competitive
position. For the next three years, more than 80% of surveyed manufacturing companies
expect an increase in the launch of new products in China and 89% expect an increase in
the share of revenue generated by new products.
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