BEIJING (XFN-Asia) — Japan is the world’s most innovative nation, followed by Switzerland, the US and Sweden, according to a new study from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The study, sponsored by US-based Cisco Systems Inc, ranked 82 economies based on their level of innovation in 2002-06 and predicted how the ranking would change in 2007-11.
Over the next four years, the top four will maintain their positions, according to the forecast, while China will move up five places to 54th and Mexico will climb six places to 39th.
The findings were based on a survey of 485 senior executives worldwide on their opinions regarding innovation, as heightened global competition is forcing governments and companies to find new ways to increase productivity, and this is creating renewed interest in the need to innovate.
It reveals that there is no single, best formula for successful innovation.
The countries at the top of the ranking are large and small; some value rote learning, while others emphasize spontaneity. All the leading nations stress the use of government policies to encourage innovation, along with education systems that produce large numbers of scientists and engineers.
"The message for governments is that there is no substitute for good education, nor for policies that encourage investment in IT and communications infrastructure. For companies, the process of renewal should, if anything, be accelerated. The proportion of total sales from new products and services needs to increase," said Nigel Holloway, editor of the study.
Main findings include that innovation has a beneficial effect on both national economic growth and on corporate performance, and that the evidence of such benefits is stronger at the microeconomic than at the macroeconomic level.
The survey cited a broad range of factors to explain what makes a country innovative, with 92 percent saying top determinants are technical skills of the workforce and quality of IT/telecommunications infrastructure.
China has more favorable conditions for innovation than India.
With annual expenditure of $ 136 billion on R&D, China now outspends Japan. But, in the sphere of innovation, there is a "small country advantage," the study said, with 12 of today’s top 25 countries in the ranking having a population of fewer than 10 million.
|
