This paper is based on the initial findings of a nation-wide survey of tech
nological innovation activities of 2100 firms in Turkish manufacturing indu
stry. Our findings show that the innovation activities are more widespread
in the firms having large sizes of employment. In some sectors of manufactu
ring industry 60-80% of the firms undertake innovation activities. Improvin
g the product quality and opening up new markets rank at the top of the mai
n objectives of innovation activities. In-house R&D turn out to be the main
sources of information assisting innovation activities. 51.2% of the firms
that are engaged in innovation carry out joint R&D with consultancy firms,
and 52.3% Of the firms with which Turkish firms co-operate are in the EU c
ountries. In the majority of the manufacturing sectors, more than 50% of th
e total sales are derived from technologically new and improved products. O
nly 19% of the firms have had patent applications with a return of very few
patented inventions. A correlation analysis of basic indicators of innovat
ion activities shows that, for instance, sales of new products, R&D expendi
tures, and firm sizes correlate only weakly. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd.
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