Innovation in the UK Retail Sector - Nesta
Innovation in the UK Retail Sector - Nesta
Innovation in the UK Retail Sector - Nesta
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<strong>Innovation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>UK</strong> <strong>Retail</strong> <strong>Sector</strong><br />
or stimulation to have been at all important; and – notably - no s<strong>in</strong>gle respondent felt that<br />
government played a ‘highly important’ role <strong>in</strong> this regard.<br />
8.3 It is important to put <strong>the</strong>se f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong>to context <strong>in</strong> a number of ways. First, <strong>in</strong> l<strong>in</strong>e with<br />
earlier analysis, retailers appeared to rely less on any s<strong>in</strong>gle source of <strong>in</strong>formation than<br />
<strong>UK</strong> firms on average, apart from <strong>the</strong>ir particular <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> conferences, trade fairs &<br />
exhibitions. Whilst low levels of importance are also attributed both to universities and to<br />
government by firms <strong>in</strong> general, such <strong>in</strong>stitutional sources appeared less than half as<br />
important for <strong>the</strong> retail sector (Figure 8.2). Secondly, it has been suggested by <strong>the</strong> sector<br />
that more recently, <strong>the</strong> largest retail firms have engaged more extensively with universities<br />
and o<strong>the</strong>r research <strong>in</strong>stitutions, although such evidence is necessarily anecdotal. For<br />
example, <strong>in</strong> 2006 five lead<strong>in</strong>g fashion retailers came toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong> a jo<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong>itiative with<br />
Government to fund <strong>the</strong> Fashion <strong>Retail</strong> Academy 15 under <strong>the</strong> auspices of <strong>the</strong> University<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Arts London, and <strong>in</strong> 2007 Tesco announced a £25mn Susta<strong>in</strong>able Consumption<br />
Institute (SCI) at <strong>the</strong> University of Manchester 16 . F<strong>in</strong>ally, <strong>the</strong> position <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>UK</strong> is not<br />
universally reflected elsewhere <strong>in</strong> Europe. The European level data from <strong>the</strong> Community<br />
<strong>Innovation</strong> Study suggests, for example, that service firms <strong>in</strong> Nordic countries have more<br />
extensive l<strong>in</strong>ks with Government and HEI sources than is <strong>the</strong> case <strong>in</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r markets.<br />
Figure 8.2. Sources of <strong>in</strong>formation & co-operation for <strong>in</strong>novation: retail sector<br />
and all sector comparison (weighted data)<br />
Institutional<br />
sources O<strong>the</strong>r sources<br />
Internal Market sources<br />
Technical, <strong>in</strong>dustry or service standards<br />
Professional and <strong>in</strong>dustry associations<br />
Scientific journals<br />
Conferences, trade fairs, exhibitions<br />
Government or public research <strong>in</strong>stitutes<br />
Universities or o<strong>the</strong>r HEIs<br />
Consultants, commercial labs, private R&D <strong>in</strong>stitutes<br />
Competitors<br />
Clients or customers<br />
Suppliers<br />
With<strong>in</strong> your enterprise or enterprise group<br />
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450<br />
Importance of source of <strong>in</strong>novation (weighted, max = 1,000)<br />
Source: Community <strong>Innovation</strong> Survey (CIS4), 2005. Base: all <strong>in</strong>novation active. Note: weighted data. High<br />
importance=*10, medium importance=*5, low importance=*1; not important=0<br />
8.4 Governments around <strong>the</strong> world have recognised <strong>the</strong>ir responsibility for support<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
stimulat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>novative activity by firms. Similarly, however, many governments have also<br />
historically shared a preoccupation with <strong>the</strong> manufactur<strong>in</strong>g sector over services, and<br />
support for technological over non-technological forms of <strong>in</strong>novation. In <strong>the</strong><br />
Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands, for example:<br />
15 See http://www.fashionretailacademy.ac.uk<br />
16 See http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/archive/list/item/<strong>in</strong>dex.htm?year=2007&month=september&id=123544<br />
<strong>Retail</strong> trade<br />
All sectors<br />
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