More than half the UK’s business leaders believe the country is falling behind China and the US in driving technology innovation, according to a new report.
A totsal of 56% of survey respondents believe China and the US have boosted their investment in technology more than the UK has, says Accenture’s latest report.
A further 68% of the 263 respondents revealed their firms had invested in innovation during 2012 and have plans to continue doing so in the following 12 months.
Accenture UK and Ireland MD Andrew Poppleton said: "A tough economy over the past few years has led businesses to concentrate on cutting costs and improving employee productivity, making the focus on innovation insular."
However, the report said that with early signs of growth in the economy, businesses must now concentrate on their customers and innovate for growth.
Half of those surveyed believe it is important to be innovative for their customers, while 65% considered being innovative for their employees.
53% of business leaders believed the UK’s research and development in technology requires more investment, while about 49% reported that firms involved in innovative research should be offered better tax breaks.
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Over 42% and 41% of respondents respectively considered that increased funding for universities for technology research and pulling more people into studying subjects based on science, technology, engineering or maths would assist in driving UK innovation.
