The United States and Germany are dropping in rank as innovation champions, Japan and China are rising.
GE QUESTION
GE GLOBALINNOVATIONBAROMETER
From chaos to confidence: Emerging players,
emerging
technologies, emerging challenges
Emerging confidence
USA
Japan
China
Germany
Sweden
South Korea
UK
Canada
India
UAE
USA
Japan
China
Germany
Sweden
South Korea
UK
Canada
India
UAE
The innovation influencers
Explore how business executives in different regions view other countries when it comes to who is leading innovation.
Click on globe to explore.
Swipe or use arrows to explore.
Africa looks to China
A relationship of trade and investment
41 percent of business leaders in Africa see China as the innovation champion. With Chinese companies investing in Africa, China is now Africa's biggest economic partner.
Europe looks to Europe
A self-serving relationship
Europe sees countries within the continent as being key innovation champions (Germany 12 percent, Sweden 10 percent, U.K. 6 percent). However, 22 percent of business executives in Europe look to the United States as the innovation champion and 19 percent of executives look to Japan.
Asia looks to The United States
An aspirational relationship
Asia looks to the United States, with 34 percent of business executives viewing the United States as the innovation champion (64 percent in China).
The United States look to The United States
A confident View
American business executives believe the United States is the innovation champion (61 percent).
Latin America looks
to Japan
A relationship of trade and investment
33 percent of business executives in Latin America believe Japan is the innovation champion as Japan invests heavily in their region.
Working in a protectionist world
At 55 percent, a majority of global executives believe protectionist policies would benefit domestic businesses. Those that support such policies say it would give businesses a competitive edge and protect the workforce. Those that do not support protectionism say it would give government too much control and create barriers to investment.
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Why do you think protectionism would have a beneficial effect on businesses in your country?Why do you think protectionism would have a negative effect on businesses in your country?
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It gives domestic businesses a competitive edge
It gives government too much control
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It’s positive for jobs and workforce
It creates barriers for investment
-
It fosters ideas domestically
It reduces competitiveness
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It provides government control
It reduces your ability to attract
talent from foreign countries
Working in a protectionist world
Future of work
Nearly three in four global executives believe a lack of skills is an issue facing their industry. And 64 percent say this problem is restricting their ability to innovate (a challenge that has increased over time, up from 56 percent in 2014).
Level of agreement is consistent across sectors (74%)
5%
5%
19%
43%
31%
Strongly disagree
Somewhat disagree
Somewhat agree
Strongly agree
A skilled workforce is key
Finding the right talent and skill sets is considered the most crucial element to innovation success across most markets.
Make a selection and explore the map to see what global business executives believe are most crucial for a company to be able to innovate successfully.
Maximizing the return on innovation
Globally, business executives say that 40 percent of innovations over the last five years have had a positive impact on their business's bottom line. While this may not be viewed as a financial success, venture capitalists would tell you this is a large margin.
What’s the secret to success?
Find out how your answers stack up against the innovation achievers from the Global Innovation Barometer.
Select yes or no
Real-Time PollGlobal Innovation Barometer Survey Results
- Has digitalization made it easier for you to measure your return on innovation?
- Do you have a data security program in place to mitigate being hacked?
- Do your investments help you demonstrate the value of innovation to clients and users?
- Are you ready to accept a long term strategy to allow a breaking innovation?
- Do you have a clear process and structure in place to measure innovation across various parts of your business?
Hype versus impact
Hype versus impact
Hype around certain technologies does not always equate to transformative impact. In fact, global executives believe that many under-hyped technologies will have a transformative impact.
Artificial and
machine
intelligence
machine
intelligence
Internet of
Things
Things
Financial
technology
and currency
technology
and currency
3D printing
Augmented
reality/
Virtual reality
reality/
Virtual reality
Big Data
and
analytics
and
analytics
Smart
energy
grids
energy
grids
Nano-
technology
technology
Driverless
transport
transport
Smart
cities
cities
Electrification
of the
transport system
of the
transport system
Virtual
healthcare
diagnosis
healthcare
diagnosis
Artificial and machine intelligence
Internet of Things
Financial technology and currency
3D printing
Augmented reality/ Virtual reality
Big Data and analytics
Smart energy grids
Nano- technology
Driverless transport
Smart cities
Electrification of the transport system
Virtual healthcare diagnosis
The potential of additive manufacturing
Global executives are excited about the potential of 3D printing, saying it will have a positive impact, increase creativity and get goods to market faster. At the same time, 53 percent believe 3D printing has yet to reach its full potential, requiring more education and reassurance.
Even though the majority of business executives believe 3D printing will be positive for businesses in their country,
they also say this technology has yet to realize its full potential.
I think 3D printing will have both a positive and negative impact
on businesses in my country
3D printing is starting to become a reality but won't impact
businesses for several years
I think 3D printing will have a positive impact on businesses in
my country
3D printing has become a reality that is impacting businesses
I think 3D printing will have a negative impact on businesses in
my country
3D printing has already had an impact on businesses
3D printing isn't being talked about
3D printing is talked about, but isn't a reality yet
I think 3D printing will have both a positive and negative impact
on businesses in my country
3D printing is starting to become a reality but won't impact
businesses for several years
I think 3D printing will have a positive impact on businesses in
my country
3D printing has become a reality that is impacting businesses
I think 3D printing will have a negative impact on businesses in
my country
3D printing has already had an impact on businesses
3D printing isn't being talked about
3D printing is talked about, but isn't a reality yet
Benefits of additive manufacturing
Global business executives are visualizing 3D printing becoming a reality for them soon, and these are some of the key benefits motivating growth in this industry.
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WATCH ALL 2018 GLOBAL INNOVATION BAROMETER VIDEOS
See reports from previous years
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - Brazil
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - Canada
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - China
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - France
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - Germany
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - India
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - Indonesia
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - Japan
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - Malaysia
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - Mexico
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - Nigeria
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - Poland
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - Saudi
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - South Africa
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - South Korea
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - Sweden
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - Turkey
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - UAE
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - UK
- GE Innovation Barometer 2018 - US