Perhaps more than any other industry, the electronics industry relies on continuous innovation. Innovativeness is an industry hallmark – and a fundamental marketplace expectation. Given the industry’s track record, few would question whether electronics companies are innovative. But when we spoke to electronics industry CEOs in our 2006 Global CEO study, we were surprised to learn just how confident they were. Two out of every three electronics industry CEOs considered their company a “clear innovation leader” in the area of new products and services (see Figure 1). The decisive majority perceive themselves not just as innovative, but as innovation leaders.
Clearly, this exuberance does not reflect reality. In actuality, there are far more followers than front-runners. So what does it take to be a real innovation leader in an industry where ingenuity is prized and competition is fierce? How does a company create innovation that really matters?
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