OREANDA-NEWS. January 27, 2015. According to the Baltic survey conducted by SEB in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the focus on innovation is considered to be most important by the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) of Estonia and Lithuania. Over the course of the last year, Lithuanian enterprises have raised their level of interest towards innovation the most.

In Estonia, 73 per cent of the enterprises surveyed answered that they are planning innovation-related activities for 2015, while a year ago only 60 per cent were of the same opinion. A significant increase in innovation plans has been noticed in Lithuania, where last year 42 per cent of enterprises were planning innovation, with the figure having risen to 69 per cent of SMEs this year. In Latvia, the number of enterprises planning innovation activities has dropped from 48 per cent to 39 per cent in a year.

“The aim of enterprises in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is to use innovation to increase competitiveness on national as well as international markets, especially given that the advantage of low production costs is gradually disappearing. Enterprises are aware that after investments are made into innovation, production and the provision of services will require fewer resources, all in all having a positive impact on the financial situation of the enterprise,” said Eerika Vaikmae-Koit, Head of SEB Retail Banking and Technology Area.

According to Eerika Vaikmae-Koit, enterprises are increasingly serious about making innovation investments. “In some cases so-called smart investments help to raise the level of efficiency, where business volumes are preserved or raised using fewer resources. The other direction is the so-called sustainability innovation, which develops the enterprise’s value offer, to differentiate oneself among globalising competition or to keep up with it,” she added.

Product or service innovation is the most popular area, with efforts being made in this area by 46 per cent of the Lithuanian, 36 per cent of the Estonian and 26 per cent of the Latvian SMEs surveyed. In Estonia, 24 per cent of entrepreneurs are planning to invest into the development of their employees, with the respective figures being 14 per cent in Lithuania and only six per cent in Latvia. Few enterprises are planning to change their business model: 11 per cent of SMEs in Estonia, three per cent in Latvia and five per cent in Lithuania.

The most interested are the industrial and energetics sectors, as well as the catering and service sectors, with around 80 per cent of the SMEs surveyed planning to carry out innovation activities which focus on improving the products or services offered. The agricultural, fisheries and real estate sectors rank among the more modest sectors, with 60 per cent of enterprises considering innovation.