American Innovation Index asks customers to rate companies
Announcements | Jun 15, 2018 | admin
The Gabelli School of Business, along with the Norwegian School of Economics and Rockbridge Associates, recently announced the launch of the American Innovation Index™ (Aii), the first survey in the United States that measures companies’ level of innovation based on customers’ experiences doing business with them.
“Our point of departure from other innovation indices is the view that customers—not managers or experts—are the best judges of innovation,” said Lerzan Aksoy, PhD, professor of marketing at the Gabelli School of Business.
“In essence,” she said, “a managerial decision to allocate resources to innovate a company’s products or services affects customers’ perceptions of the firm’s innovativeness. Firms that customers perceive as more innovative become more attractive than their competitors and as a result are preferred by more customers. By making investments in areas that appeal to customers, managers can build customer loyalty, thereby increasing firm value.”
Covering nearly 200 U.S. companies from a range of industries, the survey, conducted in May 2018, found Apple at the top of the list, followed by Amazon, Ikea, Toyota, and Netflix.
The Aii also measures social innovation through the Social Innovation Index™ (Sii), which is the degree to which customers perceive companies to create positive social and environmental change. Four of the top 10 most innovative companies on the Aii are also in the top 10 on social innovation according to customers, including John Deere, Toyota, Honda, and Ikea.
