In the 2012 report for The Global Innovation Top 1000, Booz & Co. found that Apple is ranked number 1.
The company has been conducting these studies for the last 8 years.This is for the third successive year Apple has been ranked top.
According the website, these studies:
[quote] Investigates the relationship between how much companies spend on R&D and their overall financial performance and long-term financial success—and every year, the study reinforces the conclusion that there is no correlation between the two. Instead, it is how companies leverage their R&D investments in conjunction with other resources and internal structures—such as personnel, capabilities, and decision-making processes — that determines their ability to execute their innovation agendas.
In our eighth annual study of the world’s 1,000 largest corporate R&D spenders, we focus on the “fuzzy front end” of the innovation process—the tools, mechanisms, and networks companies use to generate ideas and effectively convert them to commercialized products. We surveyed nearly 700 companies and interviewed 12 senior innovation executives and chief technology officers at leading companies to gain insights into the early stages of innovation, as well as to understand which companies they viewed as the most innovative in the world. [/quote]
Five Key Findings in this year’s report include:
- The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies Are Changing—Samsung continues its steady rise as Facebook falls.
- R&D Spending is in Recovery—After the recession, R&D is back on a solid growth trend.
- Spending ≠ Innovation—More dollars spent doesn’t guarantee innovation success.
- We’ve Got No Idea—Nearly half of the organizations surveyed believe they are only marginally effective at both idea generation and conversion.
- Tried and True Rules—The most successful innovators employ traditional methods for innovation success.
In relation to the fall of Facebook and the continuous rise of Amazon, Barry Jaruzelski, senior partner at Booz & Company had this to say:
[quote] Facebook’s drop from the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies list may suggest that social media companies have lost some of their initial luster. In contrast, Amazon’s first-time appearance on the list suggests that both the R&D community and consumers recognize companies as providing superior value when they offer products and services in creative new ways that meet customer needs through technical innovation. [/quote]
