The Global Innovation 1000

Every year since 2005, Booz & Company has conducted the Global Innovation 1000 study, which investigates the relationship between how much companies spend on R&D and their overall financial performance — and every year, we reinforce the conclusion that there is no correlation between the two.

Our findings and further analysis of what makes the most successful innovators great led The Economist to call the Global Innovation 1000 "the most comprehensive assessment of the relationship between R&D investment and corporate performance," and Tom Peters praised it as a "provocative, research-based article that is sure to get you thinking."

Since its inception, the study has been mentioned in more than 150 publications in 27 countries, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, and was recognized by the Innovate Forum, the Product Development & Management Association, and the National Academy of Sciences & Engineering.

2011: Why Culture is Key

In past editions of the Global Innovation 1000, we found that companies focused on developing cutting-edge products and services fall under one of three fundamental innovation strategy models: Need Seekers, Market Readers, and Tech Drivers. This year, our seventh annual study of the world’s 1000 largest corporate R&D spenders focuses on the link between the three strategy models, culture, and organization — and their effect on companies’ alignment to innovation objectives and the impact on financial performance. The key finding: culture is key to innovation success, and its impact on performance is measurable. Specifically, the 44 percent of companies who reported that their innovation strategies are clearly aligned with their business goals — and that their cultures strongly support those innovation goals — delivered 33 percent higher enterprise value growth and 17 percent higher profit growth on five-year measures than those lacking alignment.

Download the 2011 Global Innovation 1000 study (688kb, PDF) >
Download the 2011 Global Innovation 1000 discussion deck (664kb, PDF) >

Watch a video presentation of the study results with authors Barry Jaruzelski and John Loehr >

Listen to Barry Jaruzelski discuss the study on Businessweek's CEO Guide to Innovation podcast >

2010: How the Top Innovators Keep Winning

Succeeding at innovation requires two key elements: a focused set of innovation capabilities that is carefully tuned to a company’s innovation strategy, and the ability to align the innovation strategy with overall corporate strategy. This year’s Global Innovation 1000 reveals the capabilities best suited for each innovation strategy, whether it be need seekers, market readers, or technology drivers. Companies that achieve this, and then succeed in aligning their R&D efforts with overall strategy, we found, outperform their industry peers in terms of both profit margins and market capitalization growth.

Download the 2010 Global Innovation 1000 study (677kb, PDF) >
Download the 2010 Global Innovation 1000 discussion deck (460kb, PDF) >

Watch a video presentation of the study results with study co-author Barry Jaruzelski at the 13th Annual Corporate Venturing & Innovation Partnering conference >

2009: Profits Down, Spending Steady

The 2009 Innovation 1000 study investigated the impact of the 2008-09 global recession on worldwide R&D spending. Despite a big drop in overall operating income, more than two thirds of the companies we looked at closely either maintained or increased their spending on innovation.

Download the 2009 Global Innovation 1000 study (267kb, PDF) >
Download the 2009 Global Innovation 1000 webinar (5,7mb, PDF) >

2008: Beyond Borders

In 2008, we concentrated on the ongoing growth of global corporate R&D networks, and the benefits for innovation: Companies that conduct more than 60 percent of their R&D outside the countries in which they are headquartered consistently outperformed their less adventurous rivals.

Download the 2008 Global Innovation 1000 study (799kb, PDF) >
Download the 2008 Global Innovation 1000 webinar (3,8mb, PDF) >

Listen to study author Barry Jaruzelski discuss the 2008 study on Businessweek's Innovation of the Week podcast >

2007: The Customer Connection

Our 2007 study focused on two aspects of innovation that are key to translating R&D into successful products and services: aligning innovation strategy with overall corporate strategy and getting customers involved in the innovation process.

Download the 2007 Global Innovation 1000 study (267kb, PDF) >
Download the 2007 Global Innovation 1000 webinar (267kb, PDF) >

2006: Smart Spenders

In 2006, we introduced the concept of “High-Leverage Innovators,” a group of companies that outperformed their industry peers on a variety of financial performance metrics while spending less on R&D.

Download the 2006 Global Innovation 1000 study (387kb, PDF) >
Download the 2006 Global Innovation 1000 webinar (455kb, PDF) >

2005: Money Isn't Everything

The first edition of the Global Innovation 1000, in 2005, set the terms of the discussion. In it, we demonstrated the overarching conclusion that in innovation, money doesn’t buy results. While size and scale can be an advantage in R&D, ultimately, the process is more important than the amount spent.

Download the 2005 Global Innovation 1000 study (595kb, PDF) >
Download the 2005 Global Innovation 1000 webinar (342kb, PDF) >