Overcoming the Innovation Readiness Gap
Innovation is now a top-three priority at 75% of companies, but even committed innovators mostly lack a system ready to turn investment into results; closing that gap through CEO leadership and product-market teaming pays off in returns and resilience.
Summary
The share of companies ranking innovation a top-three priority rose 10 points to 75%, the largest jump in BCG's 15 surveys since 2005, but just under half back it with real resources (committed innovators). On BCG's i2i innovation-to-impact benchmark, only about a quarter of committed innovators scored 80 or above out of 100, and the median fell short of best practice on every dimension. Leadership and teaming between product development and market-facing functions are the levers. Readiness pays: the 2020 top 50 beat the index by 17 points in the pandemic year.
Editor's opinion
Solid quantified BCG benchmarking survey on the innovation-readiness gap, useful but not a sharp new insight.
Key concepts
Innovation readiness gap · Committed innovators · i2i innovation-to-impact benchmark · Leadership and teaming