TakeAway: Companies that spend more on R&D are rated less innovative than other companies that spread spending across divisions to grow innovation.
* * * * *
Excerpt from WSJ: “Top ‘Innovators’ Rank Low in R&D Spending”
A report by consulting firm Booz & Co., says that few of the biggest R&D spenders crack the top 10 in terms of being considered “innovative” by their peers.
The most frequent pick for innovative was Apple — the 70th biggest research-and-development spender— followed by Google and 3M, also not among the top-20 spenders.
Health-care companies held four of the five top-spender spots, but none made the top 10 in terms of being deemed innovative.
Pfizer, which ranked second for R&D spending in the study and 16th for innovation, has for the past few years tried to spur creativity by inviting researchers to attend commercial meetings and encouraging employees on the commercial side to attend scientific reviews. The company also plans to cut its R&D budget, currently over $8 billion, to as low as $6.5 billion as it focuses on fewer, targeted disease areas.
3M, which spends relatively little money on its research and development, landing at number 86 on Booz’s spending list, allows employees to spend 15% of their time exploring side projects. It also offers seed “grants” to encourage innovation.
Edit by ARK
Tags: Innovation, Product Development
The Homa Files 
Leave a comment