Gold Magazine September - October 2013, Issue 30 | Page 77

survey

INNOVATION
A TOP PRIORITY FOR BUSINESS

{business}

CHIEF EXECUTIVES AROUND THE WORLD ARE RAMPING UP THEIR EFFORTS TO INNOVATE AND
FIND NEW WAYS TO DO BUSINESS, IN A MOVE TO STIMULATE GROWTH IN A CHALLENGING GLOBAL
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT.

BOOK
REVIEW

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PwC Pulse Survey in North
and South America, Europe,
Asia Pacific, and the Middle East reveals that 97% of
CEOs see innovation as a top
priority for their business. The
Pulse Survey was conducted as a followup to the recent PwC Survey of 1,330
CEOs around the globe which showed
innovation to be a major and lingering CEO
concern.
Not every region sees the need for innovation in the same light. The appetite for
innovation was strongest in Asia-Pacific and
North America, where CEOs unanimously
agreed that innovation is a key focus area
within their organisation. In contrast, 18%
of CEOs in Central and Eastern Europe
and 10% of their peers in the Middle East
disagreed, reporting that innovation is not a
priority in the markets in which they operate.
Perhaps the most interesting news is there
has been an important shift in the relative
focus on operations and innovation. Globally,
almost two in three CEOs see innovation and
operational effectiveness as equally important
to the success of their company. Business
leaders in Latin America agree with this the
most (71%), in contrast to their peers in the
Middle East who are more divided (50%).
The research also shows that there has been
a shift in how CEOs view their role in driving innovation. Today’s CEOs recognise that
they need to be directly involved in driving
innovation within their business, with 37%
reporting their role as ‘leader’ in this area,
and 34% as ‘visionary’. This contrasts sharply
with the situation three years ago when a

similar survey showed only 12% of CEOs
were leading the charge on the innovation
strategy.
And their innovation plans are broad. Over
the next three years, CEOs are planning to
innovate across the board, from customer
experience, products and services, through to
business models, systems and approaches.

CEOS HAVE
OVERWHELMINGLY
RECOGNISED THAT TODAY,
COMPANIES THAT DON’T
INNOVATE WILL FAIL
With such widespread innovation planned
by so many companies, the question will be
around how companies will be able to differentiate themselves for competitive advantage.
David Percival, Global Innovation Product
Lead at PwC says:
“Put simply, CEOs have overwhelmingly
recognised that today, companies that don’t
innovate will fail. It’s no longer a choice. The
CEOs we surveyed are ready for the challenge
and are taking the helm. The key will be for
them to deliver value in new forms, in new
ways, to existing and new customers. What
remains to be seen is whether their organisations are ready to deliver on their aspirations.”
The PwC Pulse Survey results are based on
interviews with 246 CEOs in 60 countries
in North and South America, Europe, Asia
Pacific, and the Middle East.
The full report can be found at http://
www.pwc.com/innovationsurvey

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(JOHN WILEY & SONS, 2013)

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