Innovation Systems Need a Reboot
Companies rank innovation higher than ever but are less ready to deliver it, and the fix is to tie innovation tightly to business strategy and use GenAI to rebuild the system.
Summary
BCG's Innovation-to-Impact benchmark shows 83% of companies rank innovation a top-three priority but only 3% are ready to deliver, down from 20% in 2021; the 2024 top-quartile innovator scores below the 2022 median. Readiness fell most where business strategy links to innovation, and only 12% of executives report a strong link, leaving 'zombie' systems going through the motions. Strategy-led innovators earn a 74% higher share of revenue from new products. While 86% experiment with GenAI, ready innovators are five times more likely to have scaled it.
Editor's opinion
Companies rank innovation as a top priority yet very few are ready to deliver on it, so they must rebuild their innovation systems, especially as generative AI arrives.
Key concepts
Innovation readiness gap · Innovation-to-Impact benchmark · Strategy-led innovation · GenAI at scale · Zombie innovation systems