Background
Innovation is crucial for growth companies and the ability to secure jobs. Innovations can involve new or improved products, services, production processes, organizational forms, or marketing and sales methods. The companies’ competitiveness is determined by the total performance of products and services and the corresponding production processes. Production costs, flexibility, and quality of delivery are important success factors. Various national and international surveys aim to collect and record the innovation activities of companies to show differences between individual industries or regions and compare different countries. The main emphasis is on measuring research and development and product innovation. To close this gap and fill existing surveys, the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) developed a production modernization survey in 1993. VTT Finland has been involved in the survey since 2009, after which the lead was handed over to the University of Turku in 2019. This allows for international comparative analysis and a politically ideal impact.