News Release
For Immediate Release

Developed Nations Not Necessarily Most Welcoming to Tech

IIIP Innovation Confidence 2007 Index Indicates World
Doesn’t See New Technology All the Same

San Francisco, Jan. 22, 2008 -- A new global survey of innovation acceptance, the IIIP Innovation Confidence Index, just released indicates that openness to new technology does not necessarily correlate to a nation’s consumer confidence index and that consumers in more economically developed countries are not necessarily more open to new innovative products.  The study, commissioned by the Institute for Innovation & Information Productivity (IIIP), also indicates women in some countries are more likely than men to believe that new technology can improve their lives.

"The difference in innovation confidence across the twelve countries in our sample is striking. In some continental European countries, over half of working-age people lack confidence in new innovations.  We found a more positive acceptance of innovation in fast-growing economies like India, China and the UAE,” said the report’s author Dr. Jonathan Levie of the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

With technological-based products spreading throughout world markets, the new index was developed to determine which regions and countries are more receptive to new innovative goods.  The IIIP-sponsored index was implemented by the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Strathclyde in association with the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association and its annual Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report. 

Among the findings:

• While overall innovation confidence was highest among younger workers and those with higher education, this was not necessarily true for all countries surveyed.  For example, educational levels were not a factor among consumers who said they would buy new technology products in China, India, the Netherlands and the United States. Similarly, education was not a factor among consumers who expected innovative products to improve their lives in China, India, Ireland, Finland, Slovenia, the United Arab Emeritus and the United Kingdom. 
  
  
• Women in Ireland and the United Kingdom had a higher level of innovation confidence than men in those countries, while men ranked higher on the innovation confidence scale in Turkey. Gender was not a significant factor in the other surveyed countries.
  
  
• Overall, innovation confidence was greater among consumers engaged in an entrepreneurial activity.  This was true globally for those trying to start a business and for managers or owners of a new or established business, but confidence levels shifted by country depending on the stage of business development. 
  
  
• In general, the greatest innovation confidence was found among young people working full-time with medium to high income, educated beyond the secondary level and engaged in some form of business activity.  
  
• Italy, Turkey, Slovenia, Finland and Netherlands were the least receptive to innovation of the 12 countries surveyed.

 “We can't yet say what effect these results indicate for the rates of domestic innovation in these countries.  But given that innovative entrepreneurs need people to buy their new products or services, Europe may be right to be concerned about its innovativeness,” Levie said.

Index Strategy and Development

IIIP Research Committee Chair and Microsoft Director of Information Work Vision, Dan Rasmus said, "As economic success shifts from industrial production to the utilization of knowledge through innovation, we need new vehicles to understand the willingness of markets to accept innovation. This study creates a new metric that will help companies better understand where innovations will be accepted, and will provide insight to governments that are seeking improvements in local and regional innovation."

The IIIP Innovation Confidence Index was developed around three questions incorporated into the annual GEM questionnaire.  The questions were added only in selected countries representing diverse size and income in Asia, the Middle East, South East Asia, Europe, North America and South America.  Based on the results, these countries could generally be classified as highly innovation confident nations, “divided nations” with some resistance to new technological products, and countries unreceptive to innovation. 

Consumers between 18 and 64 years old were asked within the next six months if they were likely to buy products or services new to the market and if they were likely to try products or services that use new technologies for the first time.  They were also asked if they thought new products and services will improve their lives.

The 2007 Innovation Confidence Index report was issued as an independent document to the annual GEM report at the 2008 GEM Planning Meeting on Jan. 17-20 at Babson College in Mass., U.S.A.  The study will be updated annually to track global market trends around the acceptance of innovation.  The IIIP Innovation Confidence Index 2007 Report is available at no cost to the public on the organization’s Web site at www.iii-p.org.

About the IIIP

The techniques for measuring performance today, from factory floors to the delivery of services to the outcomes of innovation, often fall short because they do not consider the value of new technology or provide meaningful indicators to determine tradeoffs among multiple investments. The Institute for Innovation & Information Productivity was formed in 2006 to break through outmoded, industrial-age biases and redefine knowledge economy measurements for individuals, teams, firms and nations. The IIIP develops new measurements and best practices to better understand the factors affecting business and organizational performance, studies the impact of technology, and encourages a global dialogue on improving operational results. More information about the Institute is available at www.iii-p.org.

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Media Contact:  Linda Marcus, APR, Astra Communications, 714-974-6356