Most Innovative Company 2013: Apple Still Rules
Gijsbertus J.J. van Wulfen
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Booz & Company published its 2013 Global Innovation 1000 Study. This year’s list of the most innovative companies reflects the increasing importance of digitally oriented companies. Apple still rules.
The 10 Most Innovative Companies in 2013 (2012 rank)
1. Apple (1);
2. Google (2);
3. Samsung (4);
4. Amazon (10);
5. 3M (3);
6. General Electric (5);
7. Microsoft (6);
8. IBM (9);
9. Tesla Motors (-);
10. Facebook (-);
Booz & Company reports that Apple and Google took top honors for the fourth consecutive year, but there were some noticeable shake-ups. Samsung displaced 3M from the number three spot, capping its steady rise in the rankings. Amazon also made a significant move up, jumping six spots into fourth place. New to the list this year was Tesla, making its debut in the number nine slot, and Facebook returned at number 10 after a hiatus last year.
Apple continues to lead the list, for the fourth year running. The company boosted its R&D spending by almost US $1 billion this year, to $3.4 billion, raising its rank among the Global Innovation 1000 from 53rd to 43rd. Apple has seen its share price fluctuate significantly, due in part to the fact that its iPhone market share has come under increasing pressure from Android phones, and that it has not developed a new killer product in quite a while. Perhaps as a result, Booz & Company reports just 62 percent of respondents named Apple as the top innovator this year, down considerably from the 80 percent who did so last year. But the company remains strong, and time will tell how it responds to rising pressures.
Google held steady at number two; half of respondents mentioned it, up 7 percentage points from last year. 3M fell to number five, overtaken by Samsung for the number three spot. Samsung’s steady climb up the list makes clear that it is not a mere copier of innovations pioneered by other companies. With its Galaxy smartphone, Smart TV, and other inventive products, the company is proving capable of designing devices and equipment almost as crowd-pleasing as Apple’s. Amazon, meanwhile, leaped from number 10 last year to number four. The company’s skill as an innovator no longer rests solely on the new ideas it brings to online retailing; its cloud service offerings are, by some accounts, more successful than those of the company’s many rivals.
Surprise entrant Tesla Motors shows up at number nine, having spent fully two-thirds of its $413 million in revenue on R&D, typical for a company that’s essentially still in startup mode.
To see a full copy of this year’s Booz & Company Global Innovation 1000 Study click here.
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Gijs van Wulfen is the founder of the structured FORTH innovation method. He recently published : "The Innovation Expedition, A Visual Toolkit to Start Innovation". Available at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
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Photo Credits: Flickr / Nina Matthews.
Source: Booz & Company.
Proofreading
11 年Apple @ #1, not surprised. But I admit I personally do not care for the change to a 2-D icon w/ the Rev. to iOS7. Steve Forestal's original 3-D icons are superior. I have not yet upgraded my iPhone, iPad and iMac yet to 7 because of this change meant to comfort Android users. I will most likely always use Apple. I chose Apple when I began computing in 1984. I taught myself everything and can count the times I've crashed on ALL my devices over all these years of constant use on one hand. Conversely, I find PCs, although much improved, still logey. Yes, PCs are less expensive but Apple Care Support is amazing & less expensive in the long run to a self-employed used like myself. Everything synchs beautifully. I buy refurbs w/ warranties, I don't buy the latest, greatest anything. I like to wait until the bugs are worked out. I guess those are some of the same reasons we have always owned pre-owned Volvos and driven them until they have over 100,000 miles on them. Not the fancy ones, just the 240DL. I like dependability.
Data Scholar | Turning Data into an Asset | Pioneering Web 4 and the Next Economy | Seasoned Industry Advisor | Innovation and Digital Evangelist | Speaker | Redefining Value and Learning
11 年Is a sad list. During 2012/13 none of the top five created anything that changed our lives for the better. No mention of the Bill Gates foundation or the pebble watch, which is strange. Apple have stood still and in some respects fallen behind. My hope is that 2013 was a stabilisation period for technology. Lets hope that 2014 will bring new breakthrough categories. If we don't see this, we will back next year rewarding companies for releasing the same stuff with some minor updates.
Brand Strategy and Development
11 年Apple may have "disappointed" some observers with the recent announcements, and I can see some "red" cards popping up to the question "is the ipad 2 innovation?", but we often forget that this type of end product is the fruit of "transparent" innovations, or all the inner elements (battery etc....) that are innovated by definition (and much less touted). This may not be a paradigm shifting innovation (or breakthrough...), but it is incremental, or renovates, and allows to reinvest into new categories for the future : Apple R&D is between 3 & 4 bio USD, I am sure it is used not only to make thinner products! So, let's be patient. It is crazy though to see how the public has become willing and impatient to get the new thing, when iphones and ipads are only a few years old !
Senior Transformation Consultant
11 年No amount of Apple hype can mask the fact that Steve Jobs’ disruptive i-acts will be mighty hard to follow. I believe that Apple’s share price over the next couple of years will reflect this fact. I think that Google's work is worthier of the #1 slot.