Global Industry Survey Reveals Changing Perceptions About Innovation
07 Settembre 2006 - 3:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
MIDLAND, Mich., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Perceptions
regarding who is primarily responsible for innovation have expanded
from the confines of the laboratory to include all employees of a
company, according to a study released by Dow Corning Corporation
(http://www.dowcorning.com/ ). The study examined a cross-section
of managers and professionals in manufacturing companies in the
Americas, Asia and Europe. More than a third of respondents (37
percent) said they are counting on all employees, not just the head
of science and technology, to advance innovation in their
companies. Twenty-three percent of respondents felt that innovation
is the responsibility of the chief technology officer. The global
study was conducted by Harris Interactive, Inc., on behalf of Dow
Corning. The study involved a telephone survey of executives from a
wide range of industries including electronics, construction,
beauty and personal care, automotive, textiles, rubber, plastics,
paper, and health care. Harris Interactive, based in Rochester, NY,
is the 13th largest market research firm in the world and is widely
known for The Harris Poll(R). "The results show a trend away from
the traditional 'inside-out' approach to innovation, which involves
creating a new product or solution and then looking for a way to
sell it," said Scott E. Fuson, global executive director for
Marketing, Sales and Customer Service at Dow Corning. "Respondents
now are turning to an 'outside-in' perspective of monitoring the
external environment, market needs and customer expectations and
then creating products, services and solutions to address those
needs." Respondents' ranking of factors that make a supplier a
successful innovator reinforce this perception. The top-ranked
factor was having an "intimate understanding of what customers want
and need." This response scored 8.9 out of a possible 10 score,
where 10 = extremely important and 0 = not at all important. The
second highest response was "employees are creative" which scored
8.6, and third was "apply the latest developments in science and
technology" at 8.5. "Traditionally, company leaders felt that
advancements in science and technology were primarily and almost
solely responsible for innovation," explained Gregg A. Zank, chief
technology officer & executive director of Science and
Technology at Dow Corning. "This result shows that respondents
appreciate the significance of understanding customer needs first
and foremost." When identifying "the single biggest challenge
facing your business today," 36 percent of global respondents
indicated their top-ranked challenge is "lower-cost competitors."
Other challenges identified in the global results, in order of
priority, were new market development at 19 percent, innovation at
16 percent, and rising energy costs at 13 percent. Regional results
showed marked variations. The challenge of lower-cost competitors
is perceived as being more critical in Asia (36 percent), compared
to 29 percent in the Americas and 29 percent in Europe
respectively. Thirty-two percent of respondents in Europe feel that
innovation is by far the single biggest challenge facing their
businesses today. Only 10 percent of respondents in the Americas
and Asia named innovation as their top challenge. For more
information about the research methodology and results, please go
to
http://www.dowcorning.com/content/about/aboutmedia/research_newletter3.pdf
. Dow Corning (http://www.dowcorning.com/ ) provides
performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of more
than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicon-based
technology and innovation, offering more than 7,000 products and
services, Dow Corning is equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company
(NYSE:DOW) and Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW). More than half of
Dow Corning's sales are outside the United States. DATASOURCE: Dow
Corning Corporation CONTACT: Jarrod Erpelding (U.S.) of Dow Corning
Corporation, +1-989-496-1582, Web site: http://www.dowcorning.com/
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