INNOVATION ACTIVITIES OF CROATIAN ENTERPRISES – DIFFERENCES BY INDUSTRIES

In the global economic environment, Croatian firms are often not price competitive. One of the possible methods of differentiation is to innovate. In addition, penetration into foreign markets requires certain product quality standards which are also possible to be achieved through innovation. The question is how fi rms from different industries meet these challenges. The goal of the paper is to determine the extent of the differences in the innovative activity of firms from different industries. For this purpose, research was conducted using the methodology based on the OSLO Manual – set of instructions for research on innovation. The hypothesis of the paper is that firms from different branches of industry have a different level of innovation activity, which is proven by the research findings. The paper also examines different incentives to increase innovative activity at the industrial level.