The second GE Global Innovation Barometer, published yesterday, ranks Israel 10th in innovation, cited by 4% of the respondents. The US topped the list, cited by 48% of the respondents, followed by German and Japan. The survey is subjective, not empirical, as it based on the executives' opinions.
The survey is based on telephone interviews with 2,800 executives in 22 countries. The countries included in the research are Algeria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, Turkey, UAE, the UK, and the USA. All the respondents have direct involvement in their companies’ innovation strategy and decision making.
The Israeli executives see things differently, and believe that Israel is in second place. 96% of the Israeli respondents feel that the spirit of innovation in Israel has improved in the past five years, but nine of the 190 Israeli respondents said that the economic crisis was harming their ability to lead innovation.
62% of the Israeli executives said that the crisis has affected their corporate culture, making them more risk-averse (compared with 68% of global responses). 60% of the Israeli executives said that the economic crisis has cut into their companies' R&D budgets, or resulted in the cancellation of projects (50% globally). 75% of the Israeli executives said that the crisis made it harder to secure financing for project (65% globally), and 69% said that access to venture capital has become harder (62% globally).
The executives cited telecommunications and cleantech (especially energy) as Israel's leading innovation growth engines in the coming years, followed by healthcare.
Executives in Israel, UAE, Sweden, and Singapore reported the highest levels of satisfaction with their country’s innovation environment, while Japan, Russia, Poland, and France reported the lowest satisfaction levels.
The 2012 Global Innovation Barometer confirms executives’ belief in innovation as the main driver of prosperity, competitiveness and job creation, and also reveal how challenging and uncertain economic and political environments may hinder companies’ ability to deliver meaningful innovation.
The continued uncertainty of the global economy has had a marked impact on companies’ ability to innovate, with 88% of respondents reporting increased difficulty accessing external funding or a conservative shift in appetite for risk. Specifically, they see increased challenges accessing venture capital, private investment and government funding.
Executives say that innovation and competitiveness are more connected than ever before. By comparing survey results to external economic data, the survey found that countries where innovation policies are perceived as more competitive actually delivered more growth than those countries whose policy frameworks are perceived by executives as less competitive. 92% of executives said that innovation is the main ingredient for a more competitive national economy, and 86% agreed that innovation is the best way to create jobs in their country.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 19, 2012
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