Contract No.: U1400-071624/001/CY Contract Award Date: 2006-10-05 POR No.: POR 185-06 Corporate Connection Report to Industry Canada Communications and Marketing Branch C.D. Howe Building 235 Queen St. Ottawa ON K1A 0H5 Room 204E Telephone: 613-943-2545 Fax: 613-952-5162 Email: ResearchAdvertising_RecherchePublicite@ic.gc.ca Spring 2007 Prepared by: Ce rapport est aussi disponible en français.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction...1 Findings...2 Characteristics of Survey Participants...2 Appendices: Question wording (French and English) Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc.
INTRODUCTION Corporate Connection Spring 2007 Report to Industry Canada This report presents the results for two proprietary questions asked on behalf of Industry Canada that were included in the spring 2007 wave of Corporate Connection. Corporate Connection is a twice-yearly survey of CEOs and senior executives that focuses on current corporate and public affairs issues. For this wave of the study, 400 interviews were completed between May 30 th and July 3 rd, 2007. Over half of the sample (59%) consisted of CEOs, presidents and business owners. The results were weighted by size, sector and region to reflect the actual distribution of firms across Canada (according to Statistics Canada data). Based on a sample of this size, the findings can be considered to be accurate to within +/- 5%, 19 times out of 20. This study was conducted by Phoenix Strategic Perspectives, a public opinion research firm that specializes in public affairs and special audience research, in particular business audiences. Following the substantive questions reported on in this summary report is a set of graphs that present the characteristics of survey participants and their businesses. Where the analysis focuses on the size of business, surveyed companies have been grouped into the following categories: small (less than 50 employees), medium-sized (50-99), and large (100 employees and more, with more than two-thirds of the large firms having 200 or more employees). The questions addressed in this report are appended. Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc. 1
FINDINGS Corporate Connection Spring 2007 Report to Industry Canada Many Businesses Undertake More R&D Than Five Years Ago Compared to five years ago, nearly half of executives (46%) say that their business now undertakes more R&D than it did before, with about onequarter (26%) undertaking a lot more. Those who have not increased their R&D activities were much more likely to say this has not changed for their business (38%), rather than to report a decrease (8%). Change in Extent of R&D Activities Q: Compared to five years ago, would you say your business now undertakes a lot more R&D, a little more, the same amount, a little less or a lot less? A lot more A little more Same amount 20 26 38 A little less 5 A lot less 3 0 10 20 30 40 50 DK/NR = 1% Larger businesses were much more likely than others to have increased their R&D over the last five years (57-60% vs. 43% of small firms). Change in Volume of R&D by Firm Size Small Medium Large A lot more 25% 35% 26% A little more 18% 25% 31% Same amount 39% 34% 37% A little less 6% - 3% A lot less 3% 2% - Executives of firms in the west were at least twice as likely to think their company does a lot more R&D over the past five years (43% in the west vs. 20% in Atlantic Canada, 18% in Ontario, and 13% in Quebec). Those in Atlantic Canada (57%), followed by Ontario (46%), were the most likely to report no change (25-33% elsewhere). Ontario firms were also noticeably more likely to have decreased their R&D (16% vs. 5% or less elsewhere). Change in Volume of R&D by Region Atlantic Quebec Ontario West A lot more 20% 13% 18% 43% A little more 22% 32% 17% 15% Same amount 57% 25% 46% 33% A little less - - 12% 3% A lot less - 3% 4% 2% Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc. 2
Half Plan to Undertake More R&D in Next Five Years Switching the focus to the future, 52% of business leaders expect their firm to undertake more R&D than they do currently. More than one-third do not expect the amount of R&D to change in five years (39%), while just 4% think it will decline. A further four percent did not know or gave no response. Predictions for Future R&D Activities Q: Looking ahead five years or so, do you think your business will undertake a lot more R&D than it does now, a little more, the same amount, a little less or a lot less? A lot more A little more Same amount A little less A lot less 1 3 23 29 39 0 10 20 30 40 50 DK/NR = 4% Larger firms were somewhat more likely to plan on increasing their R&D over the next five years (59% vs. 51% of small firms). Predictions for Future R&D by Firm Size Small Medium Large A lot more 23% 21% 27% A little more 28% 38% 32% Same amount 40% 34% 38% A little less 4% - - A lot less - 3% - Business leaders in Ontario were the most likely to think their firm will increase the amount of R&D over the next five years: 64% vs. 54% in the west, 46% in the Atlantic region, and 32% in Quebec. That said, their counterparts in the west were more likely to plan a large increase (34% vs. 29% in Atlantic Canada, 19% in Ontario, and 10% in Quebec). Predictions for Future R&D by Region Atlantic Quebec Ontario West A lot more 29% 10% 19% 34% A little more 17% 22% 45% 20% Same amount 54% 44% 33% 39% A little less - 6% - 5% A lot less - 1% - 1% Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc. 3
CHARACTERISTICS OF SURVEY PARTICIPANTS The following graphs present the characteristics of survey participants by position of respondent, business size, region, and sector. Note that unweighted data is used to present the characteristics of survey participants. Position (unweighted data) President 38 Owner CEO Director 8 11 10 General Manager Other 16 17 0 10 20 30 40 50 Number of Full-Time Employees (unweighted data) Under 5 11 5-19 15 20-49 50-99 100-199 200-499 13 13 14 13 500 and over 19 0 5 10 15 20 25 DK/NR = less than 1% Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc. 4
Region (unweighted data) Atlantic 8 Quebec 20 Ontario 36 West 36 0 10 20 30 40 50 Sector (unweighted data) Manufacturing Mining/oil/gas Admin. support/waste mgnt. Retail Wholesale trade Health care/social asst. Accom. & food services Finance & insurance Prof., scientific, tech. Construction Trans. & warehousing Arts, entertainment, Real estate/renting & leasing Info. & cultural industries Other 1 4 4 4 3 3 6 6 7 7 8 8 0 5 10 15 20 10 14 16 Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc. 5
APPENDIX Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc. 6
QUESTION ASKED English: 1. Compared to five years ago, would you say your business now undertakes a lot more R&D, a little more, the same amount, a little less or a lot less? IF BUSINESS IS LESS THAN FIVE YEARS OLD, CODE AS NOT APPLICABLE 2. Looking ahead five years or so, do you think your business will undertake a lot more R&D than it does now, a little more, the same amount, a little less or a lot less? French: 1. Par rapport à il y a cinq ans, selon vous, est-ce que votre entreprise entreprend actuellement beaucoup plus, un peu plus., la même quantité, un peu moins ou beaucoup moins d activités de R.-D.? SI L ENTREPRISE A MOINS DE CINQ ANS, INSCRIRE LE CODE «SANS OBJET» 2. Pour ce qui concerne votre entreprise dans à peu près cinq ans, pensez-vous qu elle entreprendra à ce moment-là beaucoup plus, un peu plus, la même quantité, un peu moins ou beaucoup moins d activités de R.-D. qu elle ne le fait à l heure actuelle? Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc. 7