Just some 20% of Bulgarian businesses would invest in research, according to a study conducted by marketing and social research agency Alpha Research.

The share is higher for medium and larger enterprises, 40% of which stated they would invest in research if there were tax benefits.

Nevertheless, the greatest percentage of companies stated that they would require that they know what the end product of the research would be in advance, and 26% stated they prefer researchers to come to them with specific proposals.

The Alpha Research study also showed some discrepancies in the perceptions of businesses about the strengths of Bulgarian science and the fields of actual demand for R&D. Companies stated they felt areas such as physics, chemistry and biology were strong, but they rarely used services in those fields. On the other hand, there was demand in areas such as machine building, metallurgy, agriculture, economics and the energy sector, in which businesses felt the research expertise in Bulgaria was not adequate.

The study also revealed that in 2006 Bulgarian businesses spent twice less for R&D in terms of percentage points of revenue, compared to their counterparts in the EU.

54% of companies interviewed stated that they have not collaborated with scientific institutions, with 57% of them stating that they did not need to do so.

Of the 46% that have interacted with Bulgarian research institutions, 20% have hired researchers as experts, 13% have funded development, and 11% have used Bulgarian-made discoveries.

70% of those that collaborated with Bulgarian scientific institutions were happy about the results, with only 2% not satisfied.

This picture notwithstanding, 57% of companies stated that they feel the Bulgarian business at large has clear priorities in investing in research.