Corporate Expenditure on New Products is Expected to Grow Only Weakly in 2024

In 2023, Austrian companies recorded an above-average increase in expenditure on new products and services, although only around a fifth of the companies surveyed introduced new products or services. Companies that had already increased their innovation expenditure in the previous year largely maintained this course. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis, there has been a general decline in innovation efforts, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises. Financing through loans, which can be a significant driver for the introduction of new products, has also decreased since the pandemic. In 2023, one in four companies reported obstacles to lending.