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Among all four broad technology areas digital networks in production and service provision show the highest penetration rate in 2016. 85 percent of all firms exhibit at least a low grade of adoption in one of the four sub-categories (Figure 12-1). In 30 percent of firms there is a high degree of adoption in at least one of the sub-categories. 62 percent of firms employ digi- tal technologies in their internal organization and communication but only 13 percent of these firms indicate a high adoption rate. In the area of distribution and external communication (e- commerce, social media) 53 percent of firms rely on digital technologies; whereas the share amounts to 42 percent in the area of information processing (cloud computing and big data). The share of firms exhibiting a high degree of adoption, however, is low in both areas (7 per- cent and 5 percent).

Figure 12-1. Diffusion of digital technologies in firms in Germany 2016 by field of application

Note: “High” indicates that at least one sub-category out of the broad technology area was indicated as high, “intermediate” if at least one sub-category was indicated as intermediate but none as high, and so forth.

Source: ZEW – Mannheim Innovation Panel.

The share of firms with a high degree of adoption is the highest in knowledge-intensive ser- vices in all four technology areas (Figure 12-2). 51 percent of knowledge-intensive service firms rely on technologies from at least one of the four broad technology areas for their ser- vice provision. In R&D-intensive manufacturing this share amounts to 25 percent, in other manufacturing to 19 percent. Differences in terms of the use of information processing tech- nologies are particularly stark between knowledge-intensive services and other sectors. 13 percent of knowledge intensive service firms show a high degree of adoption of cloud compu- ting and big data applications, whereas this is the case for only 2 percent of manufacturing firms.

Figure 12-2. High degree of adoption of digital technologies in firms in Germany 2016, by area of application, and by main sector, size class and region

Note: A high degree of adoption indicates that at least one sub-category out of the broad technology area was indicated as high.

Source: ZEW – Mannheim Innovation Panel.

In the field of production and service provision, 5 percent of firms show a high degree of adoption in all four sub-categories. These firms appear to be part of the group of technology leaders when it comes to “Industry 4.0”. Broken down according to industry affiliation the highest share of penetration of digital technologies can be found in the IT and telecommunica- tion sector (around 16 percent), followed by the technical and R&D-service industry (more than 8 percent). The manufacturing sector with the highest share of adoption is the consumer goods industry “furniture/toys/medical devices/repair” with around 7 percent. In the sector of R&D-intensive manufacturing as a whole is with 2 percent much lower.

Figure 12-3. Diffusion of digital technologies in firms in Germany 2016 by industry

Source: ZEW – Mannheim Innovation Panel.

It turns out that knowledge-intensive service firms are much more receptive to the adoption of digital technologies. This is partly explained by the fact that products offered by these firms are in many cases already digital; definitely in the IT and telecommunication sector but also in, for example, advertising, technical and R&D services or consulting. In all these sec- tors the adoption rate of digital technologies is above 40 percent. For comparison, electronics is the manufacturing sector with the highest adoption rate of 31 percent.

The adoption of digital technologies and applications is positively correlated with firm size. This is due to economies of scale and scope that are more likely to be achieved by larger firms. Moreover, necessary resources such as sufficient IT know-how, e.g. in form of a sepa- rate IT division, are more likely to exist in larger firms. Looking at individual technologies, digital networks and linkages with customers are the most widely adopted ones. 76 percent of firms in Germany exhibit at least a low degree of adoption in this segment (Figure 12-4). 17 percent indicate a high degree of adoption. Digital networks and linkages with suppliers show a lower penetration rate (71 percent and 12 percent with a high degree). 70 percent of firms also use digital networks in their production processes and for service provision (including 21 percent with a high degree).

Outside of the area of production and service provision the use of software-based communi- cation (e.g. Skype or other messenger services) shows the highest degree of adoption. Almost every second firm in Germany use these kinds of applications, 7 percent to a high degree. E- commerce technologies prevail in 43 percent of firms, but are adopted to a high degree in on- ly 5 percent of firms. Social media is used by 43 percent of firms. These results coincide with surveys conducted by the German Statistical Office on the use of information and communi- cation technologies (“ICT Survey”, 2016). There the share of firms—including small firms

with less than five employees from a broader range of sectors—that use social media amounts to 36 percent. Around 40 percent of firms use cloud computing technologies. Big data exhib- its the lowest adoption rate with 28 percent, and only 2 percent of firms assign a high degree of importance to these applications.

Figure 12-4. Diffusion of digital technologies in German firms in 2016 according to individual technologies

Source: ZEW – Mannheim Innovation Panel.