A new report from Grant Thornton International Ltd reveals that customers and in-house R&D teams are now the leading source of innovation for U.S. businesses, while globally customers are an organization’s best source of innovation. When asked to name the origin of the best innovation ideas, U.S. business owners named customers (37%) and in house R&D teams (37%) as their leading sources of innovations followed by heads of business units (34%) and employees (32%). Globally, 41 percent of businesses say that customers are their leading source for innovation.
“In recent history the tech boom and the creation of internet social networking sites brought innovation and entrepreneurship into every American home,” said Harris Smith, Grant Thornton LLP’s managing partner for Private Equity and the Audit practice leader of the firm’s Southern California offices. “Without entrepreneurs and innovation, America couldn’t thrive.”
Regionally the report reveals that in Asia Pacific customer focus is a particular source of innovative ideas and products with nearly half of businesses (48%) citing customers as the source of the best innovative ideas, compared with 40 percent in Western Europe and 35 percent in North America.
In addition, more than three in four businesses globally (78%) believe that the U.S. is the easiest country to create innovative products, services and business. The U.S. is the clear leader in this, with the next highest countries being China (22%), India (22%) and the U.K. (21%). Regionally, the U.S. is also seen as the leading country with 77 percent of Asian-Pacific businesses, 84 percent of North American businesses and 71 percent of European businesses saying it is the easiest country to create innovative products, services and business in.
“With the history of innovation in the U.S. spanning from the country’s earliest beginnings, it’s not hard to understand why businesses around the globe see America as the land of innovation,” said Smith.
To read the full Grant Thornton International global innovation report, Innovation: the key to future success?, or the North American, European or Asia-Pacific regional innovation reports, please go here.
The Strategy Group 