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"New" Does Not Mean "Better"
in all Countries
IIIP Innovation Confidence 2007 Index Reveals
Skepticism in Europe, Enthusiasm in Asia
San Francisco, Jan. 22, 2008 —
A new global survey of innovation acceptance reveals that consumers' confidence
in the ability of more advanced products and services to improve their lives
varies widely around the world and that up to half of consumers in some European
continental countries are skeptical of the value of innovation. Only 30 percent
of Dutch working age adults believe that new products or services will improve
their lives in the next six months, compared with 60 percent of United States
consumers, and 80 percent in India and the United Arab Emirates, according to
The Institute for Innovation & Information Productivity, which released the
study today.
Despite its reputation for innovation and entrepreneurship, the United States
falls approximately midway in the innovation confidence index, the same as
China, but behind fast-growing economies with young populations like Brazil,
India, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates. Young, well-educated students,
business people and full-time employees are more likely to be innovation
confident. Given all of the considerations measured, in some continental
European countries women are less likely to be innovation confident than men.
Overall, the continental European countries surveyed have the lowest rates of
innovation confidence. For example, despite the reputation of their country for
widespread use of mobile telecommunications, only one third of Finns expect in
the next six months to try products or services that use new technology,
compared with over two thirds of Brazilian, Indian, Irish and UAE residents.
The results of the study, which was based on almost 25,000 respondents, is a
new index of "Innovation Confidence" indicating the openness of the twelve
surveyed countries to new technology and innovation as shown:
IIIP Innovation Confidence Index
(from the most confident nation to the least)
|
|
Nation |
IIIP Innovation
Confidence Index |
Sample Size |
|
United Arab Emirates |
76 |
2097 |
|
India |
73 |
1601 |
|
Brazil |
68 |
2000 |
|
Ireland |
66 |
1897 |
|
China |
60 |
2666 |
|
United States |
58 |
1583 |
|
United Kingdom |
55 |
2069 |
|
Italy |
54 |
2000 |
|
Turkey |
51 |
2400 |
|
Slovenia |
48 |
3020 |
|
Finland |
44 |
2005 |
|
The Netherlands |
38 |
1479 |
"The difference in innovation confidence across the countries in our sample is
striking. In some continental European countries, over half of working-age
people lack confidence in new innovations. We found a more positive acceptance
of innovation in fast-growing economies," said the report's author Dr.
Jonathan Levie of the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.
"We can't yet say what effect these results imply for the rates of domestic
innovation in these countries. But given that innovative entrepreneurs need
people to buy their new products or services, Europe may be right to be
concerned," Levie said.
With technological-based and other advanced products spreading throughout world
markets, the new index was developed to determine which regions and countries
are more receptive to new innovative goods. The IIIP Innovation Confidence
Index, which is distinct from the general consumer confidence, was commissioned
by the IIIP and implemented by the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at the
University of Strathclyde in association with the Global Entrepreneurship
Research Association and its annual Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)
report.
Index Strategically Developed to Study Innovation Acceptance
IIIP Research Committee Chair and Microsoft Director of Information Work
Vision, Dan Rasmus said, "As economic success shifts from industrial production
to the utilization of knowledge through innovation, we need new vehicles to
understand the willingness of markets to accept innovation. This study creates
a new metric that will help companies better understand where innovations will
be accepted, and will provide insight to governments that are seeking
improvements in local and regional innovation."
The IIIP Innovation Confidence Index was developed around three questions
incorporated into the annual GEM survey of individual entrepreneurial activity
worldwide. The questions were added in selected countries representing diverse
size and income in Asia, the Middle East, South East Asia, Europe, North
America and South America. Representative samples of adults between 18 and 64
years old were asked if, over the next six months, they were likely to buy
products or services new to the market, they were likely to try products or
services that use new technologies for the first time, and whether new products
and services will improve their lives.
Based on the results, the surveyed countries can be ordered on a spectrum from
highly innovation confident nations to "divided nations" where about half the
population appears resistant to new products and new technology. The Index will
be updated annually to track global market trends around the acceptance of
innovation.
The Innovation Confidence Index 2007 Report was initially distributed as an
independent document to the annual GEM report at the 2008 GEM Planning Meeting
on Jan. 17-20 at Babson College in Mass., U.S.A. It is being released to
business and the general public today and is available at no cost on The
Institute for Innovation & Information Productivity Web site at www.iii-p.org.
About the IIIP
The techniques for measuring performance today, from factory floors to the
delivery of services to the outcomes of innovation, often fall short because
they do not consider the value of new technology or provide meaningful
indicators to determine tradeoffs among multiple investments. The Institute for
Innovation & Information Productivity was formed in 2006 to break through
outmoded, industrial-age biases and redefine knowledge economy measurements for
individuals, teams, firms and nations. The IIIP develops new measurements and
best practices to better understand the factors affecting business and
organizational performance, studies the impact of technology, and encourages a
global dialogue on improving operational results. More information about the
Institute is available at www.iii-p.org.
# # #
Media Contact:
Linda Marcus, APR, Astra Communications, +1.714.974.6356
lmarcus@astra.cc
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