the of the creative massesh24-files.s3.amazonaws.com/24949/22194-czsd0.pdf · the rise of the...

TheRISEof the

CREATIVE MASSES

Innovation Force 2010

Transforming the Workforce into an Innovation Force

Published by Innovation Inside. February, 2010

INNOVATIONinsideH v i s d u v i l m e s t r e n y t æ n k i n g

2 The Rise of the Creative Masses

The Rise of the Creative Masses 3

Content


Content......................................................................................................3

Executive Summary ..................................................................................4The rise of the creative masses ....................................................................4How well are the Nordic workplaces designed for innovation? ...............................5The Nordic innovation stars .........................................................................7Private and public sectors share the innovation agenda .......................................9

The Innovative Workplace.......................................................................11

Nordic Innovation Excellence ................................................................13Few feel innovative in the workplace ............................................................14Measuring the Nordic innovation forces ........................................................15Sweden is the leading Nordic innovation force.................................................17Innovation thrives in small workplaces .........................................................19Entrepreneurs lead innovation ....................................................................21Private and public sectors share the innovation agenda ......................................23

The Innovation Force Index.....................................................................26

Nordic Innovation Forces ........................................................................291. The Individual.....................................................................................29

Work satisfaction............................................................................................................29Work mood.....................................................................................................................30Work influence................................................................................................................31Work empowerment .......................................................................................................32

2. The Organization .................................................................................33Openness........................................................................................................................34Culture ............................................................................................................................35Bureaucracy....................................................................................................................37Evaluation .......................................................................................................................38

3. The initiative......................................................................................39Creativity drive................................................................................................................39Creative ability ................................................................................................................41Ideas...............................................................................................................................42

4. The Management.................................................................................43Management attentiveness .............................................................................................44Idea delivery ...................................................................................................................45Feedback.........................................................................................................................46Idea usage ......................................................................................................................47

5. The Processes ....................................................................................49Methods .......................................................................................................................50Cooperation ....................................................................................................................51External involvement ......................................................................................................52

About the Survey ....................................................................................54The Nordic consumer panels ...............................................................................................54


Executive SummaryThe key to prosperity and jobs in the future lies in the ability of countries, compa-nies, and people to create and innovate.

The challenge is how to achieve such growth – how to enhance the ability to thinkcreatively, to generate ideas, and to turn the ideas into new solutions and products.

The workplace is the epicenter of creativity and innovation in all economies. This iswhere new knowledge and new ideas are transformed into new products and solu-tions, creating new growth and new jobs. Consequently, a key to success in the 2010’sis to design workplaces that foster creativity and produce innovation. This is the sin-gle most important leadership challenge of the new decade.

According to a survey with 6,003 representative respondents in the workforce in Fin-land, Sweden, Norway and Denmark – conducted by Userneeds for Innovation In-side, most Nordic business managers – in the private sector as well as the public – arewell aware of the need for innovation. Asked whether they believe it to be importantto be creative and innovative in their job, no less than 71 pct. of the Swedish busi-ness leaders say “very important”. An impressive number by any account.

The mindset among the business leaders is important, since the challenge of creatingan innovative workplace first and foremost is the responsibility of the leaders in theworkplace. Few others have the power and means to supply a working environmentwith the tools and opportunities that enables and mobilizes the innovative potentialof everyone, turning the workforce into a real innovation force.

Not all the Nordic countries, however, have leaders with the same strong convictionof the need for being creative and innovative, as the Swedes. While 63 pct. of theDanish business leaders think it very important, agreeing with the thinking of theirSwedish colleagues, only 44 pct. of the Norwegian and 41 pct. of the Finnish busi-ness leaders think creativity and innovation is very important.

The rise of the creative masses

While it might be predictable that business managers have a keen understanding ofthe importance of being innovative, it may be more surprising that the Nordic em-ployees to a large extent share the view.

Asked the same question about the need to be creative and innovative on the job, 53pct. of the Swedish employees – more than half of the workforce in the country – say


it is “very important”. Denmark trails somewhat with 44 pct., while in Norway only24 pct. think it is very important to be creative and innovative, and in Finland only21 pct. - less than half as many as in Sweden, but still one in five of the total work-force.

In spite of the national variations, the Nordic leaders and employees share a strongcommon understanding that competition today is more about smart ideas than longhours – although one doesn’t rule out the other.

The large number of people believing creativity and innovation are very important onthe job suggests a broad shift in the mindset of the working population away from thedutiful compliance of given tasks - striving for efficiency, a characteristic of the in-dustrial age, towards an individual responsibility in producing ideas. This signals a riseof the creative masses, rather than the rise of a creative class.

How well are the Nordic workplaces designed for innovation?"

While the Nordic countries seem to have a vast potential for ideas and innovation thatmay be turned into competitive advantages and create new wealth and new jobs inthe global economy, it is by no means a given fact that this actually will happen. Asupportive mindset may be a necessary prerequisite, but innovation depends not onintent alone. It needs the support from innovative workplace practices and processes.

When asked not just about the importance of being creative and innovative on theirjobs, but if they actually are creative and innovative, the percentages drop dramati-cally all over. Only 34 pct. of the Swedish leaders and 23 pct. of the Swedish em-


Figure 1The Innovative Gap

49

59

32

26

42

20

27

13 12

18

0

25

50

75

Denmark Sweden Norway Finland All countries - mean

How important is it to be creative and innovative in your job?Response: "Very important"

How creative and innovative are you in your job?

Response: "Very much"%

Data: 6.003 employed respondants in the Nordic countriesSource: INNOVATIONinside and Userneeds


ployees say “very much”. That’s less than half of the number that believe it is very im-portant in their jobs.

Looking at all the respondents in all the Nordic countries, 42 pct. find it very im-portant to be creative and innovative in their job, whereas only 18 pct. say they arevery creative and innovative. And when asked how often they get work-related ideas,only 14 pct. reply “very often”.

There is a vast divide between what is perceived as important to master at the work-place and what is actually performed. There is a divide between intention and action.This has several important implications:

• On the positive side, the Nordic workforces have a vast untapped potential tobe creative and innovative – the necessity is broadly understood, although theactual performance doesn’t match up.

• On the negative side the Nordic workforces seemingly lack the ability to be theinnovation force that is needed today.

The divide between innovation intent and innovation performance also suggests thatmillions of people underperform in the job today. This is not just a story about losteconomic potential, but also of personal frustration, being exposed to and embeddedin a workplace which does not provide the means and opportunities necessary to dowhat one really thinks one should do.

It is a well-documented fact that the level of creativity and the ability to innovate verymuch depends on how the workplace is designed and managed.1 Creativity and theideas it fosters thrive in a workplace where the individual is motivated, empowered,recognized, and happy. Innovation thrives in a workplace with clear goals, transpar-ent and widely understood processes, receptive and open management, pro-innova-tion culture, open to external ideas, and clear performance indicators.

The difference between what managers as well as employees perceive to be needed andwhat they perceive to be reality when it comes to creativity and innovation in the job,implies that most workplaces are not well designed and managed to foster an inno-vation force.

Some indications:

• Only 12 pct. say that the management is very receptive to criticism to improveexisting working processes and products. As management very often is the first

1 ”The Innovation Elite”, Monday Morning, 2006


“gate keeper” for innovation initiatives, this indicates a severe barrier to ideas thatimprove existing products and processes

• Only 13 pct. say that everybody in their workplace strongly supports innovation,indicating a weak innovation culture, where neither mindset nor values supportnew ideas and initiatives

• Only 16 pct. say that management always listens to their ideas – and when theydo, only 21 pct. always get feedback on their ideas, indicating that many areleft with the impression that their creative effort has little value or is not recog-nized

• Only 8 pct. say that there are very clear processes for how to work with newideas, indicating that seeing innovation through is a struggle – or a game playedby a selected few

• Only 9 pct. say that customers and suppliers are involved to a high degree in theinnovation processes, indicating a workplace closed to ideas and knowledge fromthe outside.

Although creativity and innovation is a priority in many workplaces, most workplacesby far lag in implementing the necessary conditions and environment, when com-pared to the perceived necessity. Consequently, much needs to be done in order tocreate Nordic workplaces that truly mobilize the creativity of the masses and developthe innovation force that is needed to succeed in the global competition of the 2010’s.

The Nordic innovation stars

There are significant differences between the Nordic workplaces when it comes tomobilizing the creativity and innovative capacity.

• Innovative countries. Sweden comes across as the leading innovation force ofthe Nordic countries, closely trailed by Denmark and Norway, while Finlandlags quite far behind the others. The Swedes in particular excel in innovative in-tent. The motivation to be creative and innovative is by a wide margin the high-est among the Nordic countries. When it comes to the process of turning theideas into innovations, the margin is smaller, but still the Swedes have moreclarity in the workplace about what to do with their ideas and how to developthem, than their neighbors. No doubt, Sweden has taken more steps towardbuilding the innovative workplace, or the innovation force of tomorrow, thanthe other Nordic countries.

• Innovative workplaces. Creativity and innovation thrives in small workplaces.In all Nordic countries, larger companies have greater difficulties in makingideas flourish and innovation processes excel. Overall in the Nordic countries,51 pct. of the workforce in small companies find it very important to be creative



16

13

12

11

35

29

20

15

30

27

27

25

19

19

15

14

18

0 100 200 300 400 500

29

31

34

441

438

410

311

0 25 50

Denmark

Norway

Sweden

Finland

Sweden

Norway

Denmark

Finland

Sweden

Denmark

Norway

Finland

Norway

Denmark

Sweden

Finland

Denmark

Norway

Finland

Sweden

IndividualExpresses degree of job satisfaction

Sweden

Denmark

Norway

Finland

and influence on the job


Organization Expresses extent that culture supports innovation, learning and adaptability

Initiative Expresses degree of innovative intent, innovation competencies and idea production

Management Expresses how well ideas are received and handled

Processes Expresses level of internal cooporation, external involvement and use of tools

Max score: 100

Mean scores by parameter and country

Figure 2Nordic Innovation Force Index 2010

Total score


and innovative, while this is true of 38 pct. in large companies. When askedhow creative and innovative you are in your job, 26 pct. say “very” in the smallcompanies compared with 16 pct. in the large companies. Likewise, the inno-vation culture is much stronger in small companies. While 23 pct. in small com-panies strongly agree that management is receptive and open to criticism, only7 pct. find that true in large companies. Bureaucracy kills ideas in the large com-panies. While 36 pct. in small companies strongly agree that formal proceduresand rules do not hamper creativity and innovation, a mere 11 pct. share thatview in large companies. In small companies 21 pct. say that they get ideas veryoften, while this is true of only 12 pct. in large companies.

• Innovation leaders. The entrepreneurs are the leaders of the innovation cul-ture. On every account, the entrepreneurs deliver higher scores on the key driv-ers for the creative and innovative workplace, distancing themselves from otherbusiness managers. The entrepreneurs believe more strongly than other man-agers and employees that being creative and innovative are very important. Thisis true of 60 pct. of the Nordic entrepreneurs compared to 54 pct. of the man-agers and 36 pct. of the employees. While it may not be surprising thatentrepreneurs are strongly focused on being creative and innovative, since theytypically are the leaders and owners of the workplace, entrepreneurs, however,also seem to have a better understanding of the processes that develop creati vityinto innovation. 26 pct. also say that there are very clear procedures for work-ing with ideas in their workplace, compared to 8 pct. of the managers – andonly 6 pct. of all those working in large companies. No doubt many profes-sional managers can learn lessons from the entrepreneurs on how to build astrong innovation culture, empowering employees, encouraging ideas and work-ing with them.

Private and public sectors share the innovation agenda

The private and public sectors share the view on the importance of innovation. NoNordic country displays any important difference between the two sectors when askedhow important it is to be creative and innovative in the job – although the level be-tween the countries varies greatly. In Sweden 58 pct. of those in the private sectorfind it very important to be creative and innovative in the job, while 59 pct. say so inthe public sector. In Finland 25 pct. find it very important in the private sector and27 pct. in the public.

Comparing the two sectors, overall the job conditions in terms of work satisfaction,mood and influence are quite similar. The private sector tends to be slightly better atshaping good conditions for creativity and innovation than the public sector, but itis not a big difference. The similarity between the sectors may be surprising, since



the public sector does not operate on competitive terms with the market forces crea -ting the motivation to innovate, while many private companies have to innovate orrisk extinction.

There are, however, a few notable differences. The innovation culture is not as strongin the public sector as in the private. 16 pct. in the private sector strongly agree thateverybody supports innovation, while only 8 pct. do so in the public. The manage-ment in the public sector does not pay as much attention to ideas, as their private col-leagues. 11 pct. in the public sector say management always listens, while 19 pct.agree in the private sector, suggesting a work environment in the public sector less per-ceptive to new ideas.

Also, the public sector doesn’t involve the customers – citizens and corporations – inthe innovation processes to the same degree as the private sector. Only 4 pct. stronglyagree that the customers are involved, while the same is true of 13 pct. in the privatesector, indicating that the public sector does not benefit from the ideas and know ledgeof their stakeholders to the same extent when developing new solutions.

In spite of the differences, the public sectors in the Nordic countries do not trail farbehind the private sector in transforming from workforce to an innovation force, mo-bilizing the vast creative masses of the workplaces, thus contributing importantly tothe value creation in the economy at large.



The Innovative Workplace

“Innovation is not the product of logical thought, although the result is tied to logical structure.”

Albert Einstein

According to leading economic institutions such as the OECD, the key to prosper-ity and jobs in the future lies in the ability of countries, companies, and people tocreate and innovate.

The challenge is how to achieve such growth – how to enhance the ability to thinkcreatively, to generate ideas, and to turn the ideas into new solutions and products.On a national level, OECD has identified knowledge, ITC, education and entrepre-neurship as important drivers of innovation. New knowledge is a prerequisite foridentifying new opportunities. ICT enables smarter processes and products and makesdevelopment more efficient. Education enhances the talents of the workforce. Andentrepreneurs, creating new companies, offer better solutions.

The workplace, however, remains the epicenter of creativity and innovation in alleconomies. This is where knowledge and new ideas are transformed into new pro ductsand solutions, creating new growth and new jobs. Consequently, a key to success inthe 2010’s is to design workplaces that foster creativity and produce innovation. Thisis the single most important leadership challenge of the new decade, whether we ad-dress the need to compete in a global economy, the need to find answers to the cli-mate crisis, or the need to redesign graying societies with shrinking workforces.

Creating innovative workplaces is especially important in the Nordic countries. With-out product and business model innovation, competition is all about cost. The Nordiccountries are affluent societies with high wages and high taxes, financing welfare so-cieties that offer free education, free health care, and unparalleled social security. Com-peting on costs with new economic superpowers, such as China, India, Russia andBrazil, is a questionable strategy. Competing on new ideas, which turn into compe -titive new solutions and products is by far a more sensible strategy. Consequently,more people need to make a living by creating something new.

The fact is, innovative workplaces are more competitive and produce higher revenues.According to a Danish study, the 100 most innovative companies in Denmark had arevenue margin of 13 pct. on the turnover compared to an average of 7 pct. among

the 1,000 largest companies in Denmark – which by themselves already represent thebusiness elite of the country.2 Also, 30 pct. of the turnover in the 100 most innova-tive companies in Denmark came from products and services that did not exist threeyears ago, documenting an ability to turn ideas into profitable solutions.

In order for a nation to compete on ideas, however, it is necessary to replicate theachievement of the innovative business elite to create an innovative workplace on alarge scale. The entire workforce needs to be transformed into an innovation force,mobilizing the creativity and innovation of the many.

The best of companies are well aware of the importance of mobilizing the creativityof all employees, including stakeholders outside the company, instead of leaving it inthe hands of a selected few, when trying to improve, develop, invent and reinventevery process and product for added competitiveness and value.

For instance, when Jack Welsh as the CEO of General Electric introduced an inno-vation culture to the company and involved all employees in the effort, some of themost productive ideas and insights came from the truck drivers that delivered thegoods to the customers and had hands on knowledge of what worked and what couldbe improved – and often ideas on how to do it.

Likewise, a company of 1,000 employees may have 20 R&D experts, but if only 10pct. of the rest has the knowledge, creativity and motivation to come with one ideaeach for a new product or process, this would provide the firm with 98 employees con-tributing significantly to innovation – more than five times more people than theR&D department has.

Consider Lego which may have a customer base of about 3 million people. If only0.01 pct. has the ability and willingness to contribute to innovation, which others infact would like to buy, then this is 300 people compared to some 150 employees fo-cused on designing new products.

In others words, innovation is not just a job for those working in the R&D depart-ment. Everybody can contribute with new ideas in all positions and all levels in theworkplace. It is the total effort that distinguishes the best from the rest. But in orderfor everybody to be able to contribute, leaders need to design a workplace where em-ployees have the opportunity, means, and motivation to initiate innovation.


2 ”The Innovation Elite”, Monday Morning, 2006

Nordic Innovation Excellence Innovation on the job is top priority in Nordic countries.

According to a representative survey of the workforces of Finland, Sweden, Norwayand Denmark, most Nordic business managers – in the private sector as well as thepublic – are well aware of the need for innovation. Asked whether they believe it tobe important to be creative and innovative in their job, no less than 71 pct. of theSwedish business leaders say “very important”. An impressive number by any account.

The mindset among the business leaders is important, since the challenge of creatingan innovative workplace first and foremost rests with the leaders of the workplace. Few

others have the power and authority to ensure aworking environment with the means, tools and op-portunities that unleash the innovative potential ofeverybody, turning the workforce into a real inno-vation force.

Not all the Nordic countries, however, have leaderswith the same strong conviction of the importanceof being creative and innovative, as the Swedes.

While 63 pct. of the Danish business leaders think it is very important, agreeing withthe thinking of their Swedish colleagues, only 44 pct. of the Norwegian and 41 pct.of the Finnish business leaders think creativity and innovation is very important. Seefigure 3.



Methodology The survey ”Innovation Force 2010” is a representative sample of the work-forces in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, totaling 6.003 respon-dents. The survey was conducted by Userneeds in December 2009 with1.501 respondents in Finland, 1.500 respondents in Sweden, 1.500 re-spondents in Norway and 1.502 respondents in Denmark. The question-naire was based on the Innovation Force Index – described later in thisreport – developed by Innovation Inside.

Figure 3The Innovative Job

63

71

44 41

26

34

18 17

44

53

2421

1623

10 10

68

85

44 42 4046

1714

0

25

50

75

100

Denmark Sweden Norway Finland Denmark Sweden Norway Finland

Managers Employees Entrepreneurs

How important is it to be creative and innovative in your job?

Response: "Very important"

How creative and innovative are you in your job?

Response: "Very much"%



While it may be predictable that business managers have a keen understanding of theimportance of being innovative, it may be more surprising that the Nordic employ-ees to a large extent share the view. Asked the same question about the importance ofbeing creative and innovative on the job, 53 pct. of the Swedish employees – morethan half of the workforce in the country – say it is “very important”. Denmark trailssomewhat with 44 pct., while in Norway only 24 pct. think it is very important tobe creative and innovative, and in Finland only 21 pct., less than half as many as inSweden, but still one in five of the total workforce. Interestingly, employees of eachcountry seem to follow their managers in their assessment of innovation importance.Hence, this result also marks the relevance of managers in shaping the right condi-tions for innovation.

In spite of the significant national variations, the Nordic leaders and employees –espe cial ly in Sweden and Denmark – obviously share a strong common understand-ing that competition today is more about new smart ideas than long hours – althoughone doesn’t rule out the other.

The large number of people believing creativity and innovation are very important onthe job suggests a broad shift in the mindset of the working population away from thedutiful compliance of given tasks - striving for efficiency, a characteristic of the in-dustrial age, towards an individual responsibility in producing ideas. This signals a riseof the creative masses, rather than the rise of a creative class.

Few feel innovative in the workplace

While the Nordic countries seem to have a vast potential for ideas and innovation thatmay be turned into competitive advantages and create new wealth and new jobs inthe global economy, it is by no means a given fact that this actually will happen. Asupportive mindset may be a necessary prerequisite, but innovation depends not onintent alone. It needs the support from innovative workplace practices and processesas well.

When asked not just about the importance of being creative and innovative on theirjobs, but if they actually are creative and innovative, the percentages drop dramati-cally all over. Only 34 pct. of the Swedish leaders and 23 pct. of the Swedish em-ployees say “very”. That’s less than half of the number that believe it is very importantin their jobs. See figure 3 on page 13.

Looking at all the respondents in all the Nordic countries, 42 pct. find it very im-portant to be creative and innovative in their job, whereas only 18 pct. say they arevery creative and innovative. And when asked how often they get work-related ideas,only 14 pct. reply “very often”.



There is a vast divide between what is perceived as important to master at the work-place and what is actually performed. There is a divide between intention and action.This has several important implications:

• On the positive side, the Nordic workforces have a vast untapped potential tobe more creative and innovative – the necessity is broadly understood, althoughthe actual performance doesn’t match up.

• On the negative side the Nordic workforces seemingly lack the ability to be theinnovation force that is needed today.

Of course, the divide between innovation intent and innovation performance alsosuggests that millions of people underperform in the job today. This is not just a storyabout lost economic potential, but also of personal frustration, being exposed to andembedded in a workplace which does not provide the means and opportunities nec-essary to do what one really thinks one should do.

It is a well-documented fact that the level of creativity and the ability to innovate verymuch depends on how the workplace is designed and managed. Creativity and theideas it fosters thrive in a workplace where the individual is motivated, empowered,recognized, and happy. Innovation thrives in a workplace with clear goals, transpar-ent and widely understood processes, receptive and open management, pro-innova-tion culture, open to external ideas, and clear performance indicators.

The difference between what managers as well as employees perceive to be needed andwhat they perceive to be reality when it comes to creativity and innovation in the job,implies that most workplaces are not well designed and managed to foster an inno-vation force. This conclusion is supported by an analysis of the Nordic workplaces,expressed in the Nordic Innovation Force Index below.

Measuring the Nordic innovation forces

The Nordic Innovation Force Index reflects the key indicators for a workplace thatsupports creativity and innovation and measures excellence by using answers that re-flect best practice.

A creative working environment is characterized by a high employee satisfaction, i.e.work satisfaction, good mood and influence on the job. Empowered, happy, and con-tent employees produce more ideas and better results.

The Nordic people have a high degree of individual work satisfaction. Overall, abouta third of all leaders and employees respond that they are very satisfied with theirwork, while one in four in general is in a very good mood at work and one third feel


they have a great deal of influence on their job. This corresponds with several OECD-surveys positioning the Nordic employees as some of the most content in the world.

However, this overall satisfaction level is put into perspective when it comes to con-ditions more closely related to creativity and innovation. For indicators measuringthe quality of the processes and the culture in the workplace that promote creativityand innovation excellence, the numbers drop dramatically.

Table 1Nordic Innovation Force Index

IndividualHow do thrive in your job?How is your mood at work?How much influence do you have on your work?Average

OrganizationThe management is perceptive of criticism of the work processes The management is perceptive of criticism of the productsEverybody supports innovationEverybody accepts failuresRules and procedures do not hamper innovationInnovation initiatives are evaluatedAverage

InitiativeHow important is it to be creative and innovative in your job?How creative and innovative are you in your job?How often do you get work related ideas?Average

ManagementHow often does management listen to your ideas?Do you know where to go with new ideas?Do you get feedback on your ideas?Average

ProcessesWe work well across sections and professionsEmployees have different professional and personal backgroundsWe involve suppliers in development of new productsWe involve customers in development of new productsWe have procedures for working with innovationAverageTotal score

Denmark

38253934

11111014179

12

49201729

17412327

20489

128

19438

Sweden

34223229

13132418201016

59271835

10502027

182887

1014441

Norway

35223531

13129

14181013

32131420

21452330

224410108

19410

Finland

21112218

10107

12177

11

26128

15

15421825

1736695

16311

Average

32203228

12121315189

13

42181425

16452127

19398

108

17400

Answers: Very much, very good, very often, agree very much




Some indications:

• Only 12 pct. say that the management is very receptive to criticism to improveexisting working processes and products. As management very often is the first“gate keeper” for innovation initiatives, this indicates a severe barrier to ideas thatimprove existing products and processes

• Only 13 pct. say that everybody at their workplace strongly supports innovation,indicating a weak innovation culture, where neither mindset nor values supportnew ideas and initiatives

• Only 16 pct. say that management always listens to their ideas – and when theydo, only 21 pct. always get feedback on their ideas, indicating that many areleft with the impression that their creative effort has little value or is not recog-nized

• Only 8 pct. say that there are very clear processes for how to work with newideas, indicating that seeing innovation through is a struggle – or a game playedby a selected few

• Only 9 pct. say that customers and suppliers are involved to a high degree in theinnovation processes, indicating a workplace closed to ideas and knowledge fromthe outside.

Although creativity and innovation is a priority at many workplaces, most workplacesby far lag in implementing the necessary conditions and environment, when com-pared to the perceived necessity.

Consequently, much needs to be done in order to create Nordic workplaces that trulymobilize the creativity of the masses and develop the innovation force that is neededto succeed in the global competition of the 2010’s. First and foremost, managers needto develop a better understanding of the conditions that promote creativity and in-novation and put in place improved supportive managerial practices, while employ-ees need to be able to acquire competencies and have access to tools for working withideas.

Sweden is the leading Nordic innovation force

There are significant differences between the Nordic countries when it comes to mo-bilizing the creativity and innovative capacity at the workplace. Sweden comes acrossas the leading innovation force of the Nordic countries, closely trailed by Denmarkand Norway, while Finland lags quite far behind the others.

The Swedes in particular excel in innovative intent. The motivation to be creativeand innovative is by a wide margin the highest among the Nordic countries, but theSwedes also lead in innovation culture; a shared mindset at the workplace support-


ing new ideas and innovation, and an open minded management culture, stimulat-ing ideas. When it comes to the process of turning the ideas into innovation, the per-formance is less convincing, but still the Swedes have more clarity about what to dowith their ideas and how to develop them, than their neighbors.

No doubt, Sweden has taken more steps toward building the innovative workplace,or the innovation force of tomorrow, than the other Nordic countries - although inmany respects it is a close race.

The Danes have the highest work satisfaction among the Nordic countries, but theyhave less initiative when it comes to being innovative, than the Swedes. Still, half ofthe workforce says that creativity and innovation is very important. That is not a badprecondition in order to compete in a global innovation driven economy. Denmarkalso has a weaker innovation culture, than Sweden, and the Danes are less structuredwhen it comes to turning competencies and ideas into innovation. However, Danesare best in class at involving customers in the idea process.

Norway much resembles Denmark, but is even weaker at innovation initiative. MoreNorwegians do not perceive being creative and innovative to be all that important.Management is more receptive and open to ideas in Norway, than in the other Nordiccountries, but the receptiveness lacks innovative intent and direction. The lack of in-novative focus may have to do with the vast oil resources, buffering the nation againstthe global competitive forces.

The Finns lag remarkably behind the others on just about all indicators. Not only isthe overall job satisfaction much lower than in the other countries, so is the initiativeand motivation to be creative and innovative as well. Only one in four Finns think itis important to be creative and innovative in their job. And even more surprisingly,only 41 pct. of the business leaders think so, compared to 71 pct. of the Swedishbusiness leaders. Obviously, Finnish business leaders need to have much more inno-vative intent and direction.

The weak Finnish scores are surprising. Finland has long been a leading nation inglobal competitiveness and invests heavily in R&D, producing new knowledge thatsupports innovation. However, only 2 pct. of the employees in large Finnish corpo-rations and 17 pct. in small companies strongly agree that everybody at the work-place supports innovation, indicating a very weak innovation culture.



Innovation thrives in small workplaces

Creativity and innovation thrives in small workplaces. In all Nordic countries, largercompanies – defined as workplaces with more than 50 employees – have greater dif-ficulties in making ideas flourish and innovation processes excel.

Overall in the Nordic countries, 51 pct. of the workforce in small companies find itvery important to be creative and innovative, while this is true of 38 pct. in largecompanies. When asked how creative and innovative you are in your job, 26 pct. say“very” in the small companies compared with 16 pct. in the large companies.

Certainly, there is a difference between small and large companies when it comes tothe perception of the importance of creativity and innovation, but not on a grandscale. The leaders and employees in both types of companies share the notion of in-novation being important. However, the culture and processes that support creati vityand innovation differ much more depending on the size of the workplace.

The innovation culture is much stronger in small companies. In small companies 26pct. strongly agree that all employees support innovation, while only 9 pct. say so in

Figure 4-1Innovation in small and large companies

All countries - mean

Small organisations Large organisations

%


23

36

51

26

21

26

8

12

38

16

12

9

0 25 50 75 100

The management is receptive of criticism of the work processesResponse: "Agree very much"

Rules and procedures do not hamper innovationResponse: "Agree very much"


How creative and innovative are you in your job?Response: "Very much"

How often do you get work related ideas?Response: "Very often"

Everybody supports innovationResponse: "Agree very much"


large companies. Likewise, while 23 pct. in small companies strongly agree that theirmanagement is receptive of criticism, only 8 pct. find that true in large companies.

Bureaucracy is a serious barrier to new ideas in the large companies. While 36 pct. insmall companies strongly agree that formal procedures and rules do not hamper crea -ti vity and innovation, a mere 12 pct. share that view in large companies. This seemsto affect the ability to produce ideas. In small companies 21 pct. say that they getideas very often, while this is true of only 12 pct. in large companies. However, rigidprocesses not only hamper the ability to develop and implement innovative ideas,they also “backfire” to the extent that employees lose motivation for innovation ini-tiative at the prospect of struggling against the organization.

Figure 4-2Innovation in small and large companies

Small organisations Large organisationsData: 6.003 employed respondants in the Nordic countriesSource: INNOVATIONinside and Userneeds

%


Rules and procedures do not hamper innovationResponse: "Agree very much"


How creative and innovative are you in your job?Response: "Very much"



23

32

20

18

34

46

34

29

57

70

42

36

32

38

17

16

23

27

20

13

25

45

17

17

8

8

10

6

11

11

13

11

45

56

29

22

16

24

13

10

15

14

14

6

7

18

7

2

0 25 50 75 100

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland



Overall, the small companies are markedly better at motivating the individual to becreative and in facilitating ideas to innovation. This is not to say that smaller com-panies necessarily produce more innovative value – large companies often have easieraccess to resources to promote demanding innovation projects with large market po-tential. But when it comes to the management effort of creating an innovation force,mobilizing the creative potential in the workplace by designing conditions that sup-port creativity and innovation in every task and step of the value chain, large com-panies have much to learn from small.

Entrepreneurs lead innovation

It is no coincidence that the ability to foster entrepreneurship is a major innovationdriver in the economy.

The entrepreneurs are the leaders of the innovation culture. On every account, theentre preneurs deliver higher scores on the key drivers for the creative and innovativeworkplace, distancing themselves from other business managers.

The entrepreneurs believe more strongly than other managers and employees thatbeing creative and innovative is very important. This is true of 60 pct. of the Nordicentrepreneurs compared to 55 pct. of the managers and 36 pct. of the employees.

Figure 5-1The Innovative Entrepreneur


55

13

21

36

10

11

60

37

28

56

12

16

0 25 50 75 100

Managers Employees Entrepreneurs NGO´s

%






The entrepreneurs are better at creating an innovative culture. 37 pct. of theentrepreneurs say that all employees support innovation at their workplace, while thisis only true of 13 pct. of the managers and 10 pct. of the employees.

Entrepreneurs are also better at getting ideas. 28 pct. get ideas very often, while thisis true of 21 pct. of the managers and 11 pct. of the employees.

It is not surprising that entrepreneurs are strongly focused on being creative and in-no vative. Entrepreneurs typically are the leaders and owners of the workplace – unsur -prisingly, 83 pct. say they have a great deal of influence on their job – andconsequently they have a strong personal and financial interest in having success inthe marketplace. Also, by nature, many entrepreneurs are creative people, building abusiness on a new idea.

However, entrepreneurs also seem to have a better understanding of the processesthat develop creativity into innovation. 26 pct. say that there are very clear proce-dures for working with ideas at their workplace, compared to 8 pct. of the managers

Figure 5-2The Innovative Entrepreneur

Managers Employees Entrepreneurs


63

71

44

41

11

23

9

7

26

22

21

13

44

53

24

21

8

21

6

5

12

14

10

6

68

85

44

41

37

60

29

22

36

38

22

16

0 25 50 75 100

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland%






– and only 6 pct. of all those working in large companies. This is surprising as onetypically would expect a larger established firm to operate with more sophisticatedmethods and with established processes compared to recently started businesses.Obvious ly, firms with recent successful innovation experience share an understand-ing of the importance of this task and support innovation through more process clari -ty. No doubt many professional managers can learn lessons from the entrepreneurs onhow to build a strong innovation culture, empowering employees, encouraging ideasand working with them.

Again, there are important differences between the countries. While 85 pct. of theSwedish entrepreneurs strongly agree that creativity and innovation is important, 68pct. think likewise in Denmark, but only 44 pct. of the Norwegian and 41 pct. of theFinnish entrepreneurs. The same level of national difference is true when looking athow often the entrepreneurs get ideas, how creative and innovative they are in theirjob and to what extent everybody supports innovation at the workplace.

The difference in mindset suggests that Finnish and Norwegian entrepreneurs are lesscreative and innovative than the Swedish entrepreneurs in particular. This indicatespotential for less innovative and thus less competitive and less growth oriented newbusinesses and workplaces in those countries. This should cause concern, sinceentrepreneurs in most aspects are the leaders of innovation and an important con-tributor to national innovation capacity.

Interestingly, the NGO’s also come across as highly creative workplaces. Overall, 56pct. of the NGO’s believe creativity and innovation is very important. In Sweden itis 85 pct. – matching the entrepreneurs. The employees at the NGOs also think theyare very creative in their job, and get many ideas. Seemingly, the necessity for theoften idealistic and underfinanced NGO to set a public agenda and get funding inmany ways resembles the reality of the business entrepreneur.

Private and public sectors share the innovation agenda

The private and public sectors share the view on the importance of innovation. NoNordic country displays any important difference between the two sectors when askedhow important it is to be creative and innovative in the job – although once againthere is a big difference in the level between the countries. In Sweden 58 pct. of thosein the private sector find it very important to be creative and innovative in the job,while 59 pct. say so in the public sector. In Finland 25 pct. find it very important inthe private sector and 27 pct. in the public.

Looking at the two sectors, overall the job conditions in terms of work satisfaction,mood and influence are quite similar. The private sector tends to be better at shap-

ing good conditions for creativity and innovation than the public sector, but it is notan important difference.

The similarity between the sectors is beneficial to the innovative capacity of the over-all economy, and remarkable, since the public sector does not operate on competitiveterms with market forces motivating it to innovate. This may well be an importantcontribution to the Nordic growth potential and a very important contribution to thechallenge of transforming the national workforces into innovation forces.

There are, however, a few notable differences. The innovation culture is not as strongin the public sector as in the private. 17 pct. in the private sector strongly agree thatall employees support innovation, while only 9 pct. do so in the public. The manage -ment in the public sector does not pay as much attention to ideas, as their private col-leagues. 11 pct. in the public sector say management always listens, while 19 pct.agree in the private sector, suggesting a work environment in the public sector less per-ceptive to new ideas.

Also, the public sector doesn’t involve the customers – citizens and corporations – inthe innovation processes to the same extent as the private sector. Only 4 pct. stronglyagree that the customers are involved, while the same is true of 13 pct. in the privatesector, indicating that the public sector does not benefit from the ideas and know ledgeof their stakeholders to the same degree when developing new solutions.


Figure 6-1Innovation in Private and Public Sector







We involve customers in develop-ment of new productsResponse: "Agree very much"

42

15

17

19

13

41

13

9

11

4

0 25 50 75

Private sector Public sector

%



49

58

34

25

17

18

15

9

15

29

15

8

19

14

24

19

16

10

14

10

50

59

27

27

16

17

13

6

5

17

8

5

14

4

15

10

5

3

4

6

0 25 50 75

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland%

Figure 6-2Innovation in Private and Public Sector





The management is perceptive of criticism of the work processesResponse: "Agree very much"

We involve customers in development of new productsResponse: "Agree very much"

Private sector Public sector


The Innovation Force IndexThe Innovation Force Index measures the quality of workplace creativity and inno-vation by charting the most important framework conditions for production of ideasand developing them to new business models, products and solutions.

The index builds on a vast body of data that documents the main drivers of innova-tion in an organization. It is derived from a comprehensive conceptual model that iscalled Seven Circles of Innovation. Seven Circles of Innovation has been developedin cooperation with international innovation management experts and practitioners.It has been used since 2006 as the basic model for several innovation managementbenchmark exercises at Innovation Cup in Denmark and Innovate! Austria. Buildingon this model, more than 350 large and small private and public organizations havebeen analyzed with respect to their innovation capacity in detail. This unique andextensive database is used to condense the overall most important conditions anddrivers for innovation, and the best management practices.3

Innovation Force Index measures the key indicators of the innovation capacity of theorganization and offers a workplace benchmark against the best practice of the natio -nal workforce.

In order to build an innovative workplace, the management needs to design an organi -za tional architecture that promotes creativity – the ability to get ideas – and innova-tion – the ability to turn ideas into new solutions.

Two fundamental organizational conditions must be met in order for a workplace tomobilize the creative potential of the workplace, and aspire to become an innovationforce.

• Individual. The employees have to be satisfied with their jobs and have influ-ence on the job content. Ideas spring from emotional conditions, and happypeople not only produce more ideas, they also deliver better results.

• Organization. An organization needs a culture – i.e. a common mindset andcommon set of values – that on the one hand promotes new ideas and initiatives,and on the other hand accepts that new ideas and ventures may fail – that fail-ure is a process of learning, not humiliation. Likewise, management needs to beopen to ideas that sometimes are presented as criticism of the present processesand practices. Bureaucracy with extensive routines and rules may block or make

3 For further references see www.sevencirclesofinnovation.com and www.innovationcup.org



it difficult and slow to proceed from idea to innovation. Also, evaluation of in-novation projects with the aim of learning from success as well as failures shouldbe common practice in the workplace.

Once these conditions are established, it is easier for managers as well as employeesto produce ideas and thus take initiative – measured as the importance to be creativeand innovative in the job and through the amount of ideas produced.

In order for the ideas to develop it is important that management ensures that every-body knows where to turn with their ideas, that ideas are acknowledged, that the in-dividual gets feedback on the ideas and that good ideas are actually put to use.

In order to support innovation there should be clear and broadly communicatedprocesses for working with ideas and implementing them. The processes should in-clude a variety of relevant competencies, not least those of customers, suppliers and

other external stakeholders. Also, it is important tomeasure the success of the ideas that have been im-plemented, in order to learn and inspire.

In the following, the more detailed results are re-ported from the survey of the workplaces in Swe-den, Denmark, Norway and Finland based on thecreativity and innovation drivers of InnovationForce Index.

Innovation Force Index

IndividualSatisfactionEmpowermentInfluence

InitiativeCreativityIdeas

SuccessKPI

OrganizationCultureOpennessFlexibilityEvaluation

ManagementIdea receptionAttentivenessFeedbackUsage

ProcessesCooperationInvolvementProcedures

Scoring the IndexWhen calculating the overall Innovation Force Index in this report, the totalscore for all Nordic countries has been calculated as a simple average ofthe scores of each country, and is thus not weighted according to popu-lation or workforce size of the countries. We have chosen this method be-cause the primary focus is on the benchmark between each of thecountries. Also, the KPI's in the Index have not been calculated, being avariable that depends on the individual organization, thus adding too muchcomplexity to the workforce survey.

Innovation Governance

A Danish committee of innovation experts has formulated a set of principles for best management prac-tice of innovation. The following are the twelve key principles

1. Make growth a target. Whether the target is about turnover, profit, customer satisfaction, compe-tencies, employee satisfaction or something else is less important. But without growth target themotivation to innovate is small.

2. Determine how much of the company turnover has to stem from new products or concepts, andmake it a success criteria. Some of the most innovative companies in the world compensate em-ployees for their ability to deliver growth through products that do not exist today.

3. Connect strategy and vision with innovation. Innovation is never a purpose in itself. Innovation is themeans to deliver on strategy and vision.

4. Map the innovation competencies and capacity of the organization year-by-year, measure the out-put, and compare with peers. Document the development internally and externally.

5. Conceptualize an innovation strategy, discuss it at board meetings and communicate it to every-body. Without a common understanding of innovation it is difficult to create a common direction andprocess.

6. Make it clear to all that innovation and creativity is valued. This can be done by creating an innova-tion room and by awarding good ideas or allowing employees to work on their own ideas.

7. Create a culture that values experiments. Management could inform on its own ”mistakes” or failedprojects to prevent a no-risk taking culture.

8. Be sure that everyone knows the innovation model of the workplace, and that the procedure forworking with innovation is communicated to all.

9. Develop an innovative mentality among all by making sure that managers as well as employees havethe competencies to work with ideas and innovation, and to participate in the innovation processes.

10. Make innovation an integral part of the incentive structure at the workplace. 11. Encourage innovative cooperation – innovation is about collaboration, not individual achievements. 12. Work systematically with idea generation by establishing systems for idea processing that make it

easy to share ideas and evaluate ideas among internal as well as external stakeholders.

Source: Task Force on Innovation Governance, Council of Innovation, 2006




Nordic Innovation Forces

1. The Individual

Overall, the Nordic people are in general satisfied with their jobs. Every third person- 32 pct. - are very satisfied and if the number of people answering “satisfied” is added,a full 90 pct. of the workforce are satisfied with their jobs. The vast majority – 76 pct.- also says that they have influence on their job – 32 pct. answer that they have agreat deal of influence. And 92 pct. are in a good mood.

There are national variations – only 21 pct. of the Finns are very satisfied with theirjob, whereas the other Scandinavian countries are much on the same level with an av-erage of 36 pct. of the Swedes, Norwegians and Danes being very satisfied. The dif-ference is repeated with the mood at work with only 11 pct. of the Finns being in avery good mood, while the other countries are level with an average of 23 pct. – onein four – being in a very good mood.

Happy and engaged employees foster more ideas and produce better results. WithFinland showing some weakness, the Nordic workplaces in general have a good pointof departure when it comes to establishing the foundation for competing on creativityand ideas.

Work satisfaction

Job satisfaction is important for engagement, productivity and initiative in the job.

The entrepreneurs in all countries have by far the highest work satisfaction, with anaverage of 51 pct. being very satisfied with their job. The Danish entrepreneurs topthe list with 63 pct. being very satisfied.

The managers trail the entrepreneurs with 38 pct. being very satisfied with their work,whereas 28 pct. of the employees are very satisfied.


SuccessKPI






In all countries work satisfaction tends to be higher in smaller workplaces, while thedifference between private and public workplaces is small.

Work mood

Being in a good mood at work is important for creativity and ideas. The mood is anindicator of the level of creativity and the production of ideas. Rewarding job expe-riences generate ideas.

The entrepreneurs are in the best mood. One in three – 35 pct. – say they are in a verygood mood. Again, there is no difference between Sweden, Denmark and Norway –in all three countries 40 pct. of the entrepreneurs are in a very good mood at work,while in Finland this is only true of 22 pct.

One in four of the managers – 24 pct. – are in a good mood at work, with Danishmanagers being most happy: 32 pct. are in a very good mood, contrary to Finland,where this is true of only 14 pct.

Among the employees only 17 pct. – less than one in five – are in a very good mood,again with the Danish employees being the happiest with 22 pct. being in a very goodmood.

This implies that there is quite some room to improve the work experience in theNordic workplaces and thereby strengthen the foundation for creativity and ideas.

How satisfied are you with your work?Response: "Very satisfied"

46

34

63

48

35

40

35

41

29

57

44

33 34 33

39

32

49

40

3437

32

28

18

37

27

19 21 22

38

28

51

40

3033

31

0

25

50

75

Managers Employees Entre-preneurs

Smallorganisations

Large org. Private org. Public org.

Denmark Sweden Norway Finland All - meanData: 6.003 employed respondants in the Nordic countriesSource: INNOVATIONinside and Userneeds

%



In all countries the mood tends to be better in smaller workplaces, while the differ-ence between private and public workplaces is small.

Work influence

Influence on your own job is important for engagement, initiative and creativity.

83 pct. of the entrepreneurs experience a great deal of influence in their job. Typicallybeing the founder and leader of the workplace, this is hardly surprising, but never-theless a good indicator of what is possible, given the optimal conditions.

47 pct. of the managers have a great deal of influence in their job. That’s half as muchas the entrepreneurs. With 58 pct. Danish managers have by far most influence, with50 pct. in Norway and 43 pct. in Sweden and 36 pct. in Finland. The differences areimportant, since the managers are the key players in shaping workplace conditions forideas and innovation.

22 pct. of the employees have a great deal of influence on their job. Again, there areimportant national variances. The Danish employees have the most influence with 30pct. having a great deal, while the Norwegians and Swedes trail with 22 pct. each, andFinns with 15 pct.

Obviously, there is room for further delegation and autonomy in the workplaces tofoster more engagement and initiative.

How is your mood at work?Response: "Very good”


32

22

40

32

2126

232420

41

31

2023

2125

19

40

30

2124

20

149

22

16

911 12

24

17

35

27

1821

19

0

25

50

75

Managers Employees Entre-

preneurs

Small

organisations


%


In all countries influence tends to be greater in the small workplaces. In Sweden 61pct. experience a great deal of influence on their job in small workplaces, while thisis true of only 24 pct. in large workplaces. In Finland the numbers are 40 pct. insmall workplaces and 14 pct. in large. In Norway 55 pct. experience a great deal ofinfluence in small workplaces and 28 pct. in large. In Denmark the numbers are 59pct. and 33 pct. respectively, being the country with the smallest variation. Clearly,large workplaces constrain engagement and initiative significantly more than small.

Also, those in private workplaces experience more influence than publicly employedcolleagues.

Work empowerment

Responsibility and empowerment is important for the individual if they are to act onideas and challenges. Responsibility without the power to act may lead to frustrationand passivity rather than creative solutions and action.

73 pct. of the entrepreneurs strongly agree that they have responsibility as well as thepower to act.

46 pct. of the managers strongly agree, while this is true of only 19 pct. of the em-ployees. Obviously, the employees are not extensively empowered in their jobs.

The Swedish and Danish entrepreneurs seem to experience more empowerment thantheir Norwegian and Finnish collegeues. There are no important national variations

How much influence do you have on your work?Response: "Very much”


58

30

90

59

33

43

33

43

22

88

61

24

38

22

50

22

87

55

28

42

24

36

15

67

40

14

25

17

47

22

83

54

25

37

24

0

25

50

75

100


preneurs

Small

organisations


%



between the managers of the Nordic countries, however, while 26 pct. of the em-ployees in Sweden and 22 pct. in Denmark say they are greatly empowered, this isonly true of 15 pct. in Finland and 12 pct. in Norway.

Small workplaces tend to have more empowerment – twice as many answer “greatlyempowered” compared to large workplaces. Private workplaces also tend to haveslightly greater empowerment than public.

2. The Organization

The innovation culture is not as strong as the job satisfaction in the Nordic work-places. Innovation culture is first and foremost defined by a mindset and shared valuesthat support innovation and accepts failure as the flipside of innovation. This mind-set should be shared in a workplace in order for the individual to dare to seek changeand new projects, and to make the organization support new ventures.

Statement: I have responsibility and power to act on itResponse: "Agree very much”


49

22

78

51

25

3328

49

26

86

65

27

40

30

43

12

64

43

19

29

20

42

15

64

40

17

2521

46

19

73

49

22

32

25

0

25

50

75

100


Smallorganisations


%



SuccessKPI


ProcessesCooperationInvolvementProceduresOrganization

CultureOpennessFlexibilityEvaluation


Overall, only 13 pct. of the Nordic people strongly agree that everybody in the work-place supports innovation, while 15 pct. strongly agree that everybody accepts failure.This implies a rather weak innovation culture and hampers much of all other effortsto innovate.

The management should be open to new ideas and criticism of the existing processesand products in order to foster an innovation culture and promote new ideas and ini-tiatives. However, only 12 pct. strongly agree that management is open to criticismof existing processes and 12 pct. strongly agree that management is open to criticismof existing products. That is not an indicator of an open dialogue, encouraging allthose in the workplace to improve existing practices.

Extensive bureaucracy with rules and procedures may pose a serious barrier to ideasand change. Only 18 pct. strongly agree that this is not the case in their workplace,indicating that bureaucracy is stifling innovation in the Nordic workplaces.

It is important to evaluate ideas and innovation in order to learn what works andwhat doesn’t, and expose the successes for inspiration. Only 9 pct. strongly agree thatinnovation is evaluated in their workplace, again indicating a weak innovation culture.

There are not great national variations in the answers, except when it comes to em-bracing innovation in the workplace with 24 pct. of the Swedes strongly agreeing,while Denmark, Norway and Finland trail with 10 pct, 9 pct., and 7 pct. This indi-cates an important Swedish lead when it comes to the mindset that is an importantprerequisite to being creative and innovative.

Openness

Constant self-evaluation and learning is important for the workplace to be able toimprove the processes and products, and to develop. This demands that the leader-ship is receptive and open to criticism, and encourages debate.

36 pct. of the entrepreneurs are very open to criticism of the processes and productsin the workplace. The same applies to 12 pct. of the managers and 9 pct. of the em-ployees. There are no significant national variances, except that the Swedishentrepreneurs are more open with 48 pct. strongly agreeing.

Clearly, the culture of openness and conditions for exchanging ideas can be greatly im-proved in the vast majority of the workplaces.

There are important differences between small and large workplaces, criticism beingeasy to communicate in small workplaces, and much harder at large – in Sweden 33



pct. strongly agree that management is open to criticism in small workplaces, whileonly 7 pct. think likewise in large workplaces. That is a difference by a factor of four.

Also, it is easier to debate what could be improved in private workplaces than public– only half as many in public workplaces agree that the management is very opencompared to the private.

Culture

A common innovation culture in the workplace embracing new ideas and acceptingfailure is the foundation on which innovation builds. That is not necessarily easy toachieve. Many forces in a workplace resist change, while protecting status quo, andfailure is easy to punish, whether the punishment comes from the management or col-leagues.

The entrepreneurs demonstrate how difficult it may be to foster an innovation cul-ture. Only 37 pct. strongly agree that everybody supports innovation and as manystrongly agree that everybody accepts failure. Low numbers considering these are en-trepreneurial workplaces.

Not surprisingly, the numbers are even lower when it comes to the managers. Only12 pct. strongly agree that everybody supports innovation, while slightly more – 14pct. – strongly agree that failure is acceptable.

Statement: The leadership is receptive and open to criticism of the processes and products Response: "Agree very much”


119

39

23

8

14

7

1210

48

33

7

17

7

14

9

31

20

9

15

810

8

25

18

6

12

7

129

36

23

7

14

7

0

25

50

75


Smallorganisations


%


Among the employees 10 pct. strongly agree that everybody supports innovation,while 12 pct. strongly agree that failure is acceptable.

Most workplaces obviously have a culture that does not strongly support innovation.Swedish leaders and employees, however, stand out on supporting innovation with 23pct. of the managers and 21 pct. of the employees strongly agreeing , compared to thenext best, which is Denmark, where just 11 pct. of the managers and 8 pct. of the em-ployees strongly agree.

Statement: Everybody supports innovationResponse: "Agree very much”



Smallorganisations


%

118

37

25

7

15

5

2321

60

45

18

29

17

96

29

17

712

47

5

22

17

2

85

1210

37

26

9

16

8

0

25

50

75

Statement: Everybody accepts failureResponse: "Agree very much”



Smallorganisations


%

16

11

41

29

9

16

10

1814

47

36

11

21

1313 13

35

25

9

17

911 10

2521

8

1310

1412

37

28

9

17

10

0

25

50

75



There are important differences between the small and large workplaces, with aboutthree times as many strongly agreeing to an innovation culture in the small work-places, than in the large workplaces.

There is also a significant difference between the private and public workplaces. Twiceas many strongly agree to an innovation culture in private workplaces as in public.

Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy with extensive routines and procedures can be a significant barrier toideas and change, making it difficult and slow to work with new initiatives, and thusdemotivate the workplace.

47 pct. of the entrepreneurs strongly agree that rules and formal procedures do notblock ideas and innovation.

21 pct. of the managers strongly agree , while the same applies to 14 pct. of the em-ployees. There are no important national variances.

Bureaucracy seems to be perceived very equally in the Nordic countries as a barrierto innovation, again making the entrepreneurs the source of inspiration.

There are, however, important differences depending on the size of the workplace.Small workplaces agree three times more to the statement that bureaucracy is not stif -ling innovation than large workplaces. In Sweden the difference is more than a fac-

Statement: Rules and procedures do not hamper innovationResponse: "Agree very much”


20

15

49

34

11

22

11

22

15

58

46

11

27

9

22

13

47

34

13

23

11

21

14

34

29

11

20

13

21

14

47

36

11

23

11

0

25

50

75


preneurs

Small

organisations


%


tor four with 46 pct. in the small workplaces strongly agreeing and only 11 pct. in thelarge workplaces.

There is also a significant difference between the private and public workplaces. Twiceas many strongly agree that bureaucracy is a barrier in the public sector than in theprivate sector.

Evaluation

The evaluation of ideas and innovation is important in order to learn from the fail-ures and successes alike. Reporting the successes provides guiding stars and inspira-tion to the workplace.

27 pct. of the entrepreneurs strongly agree that they evaluate the innovation projects- indicating plenty of room for learning as well as inspiration. This covers importantnational differences, though. 40 pct. of the Swedish entrepreneurs strongly agree,while this is true of only 19 pct. of the Finnish entrepreneurs with Denmark at 26 pct.and Norway at 25 pct.

However, only 10 pct. of the managers strongly agree that innovation projects areevaluated. That is not an indication of a mature approach to innovation. There areno important national differences.

Only 7 pct. of the employees perceive that innovation projects are evaluated, againwith no significant national differences.

Statement: Innovation initiatives are evaluatedResponse: "Agree very much”


117

26

14

811

78 7

40

27

5

14

6

13

8

25

15

913

79

5

19

13

59

5

107

27

17

7

12

6

0

25

50

75


preneurs

Small

organisations


%



No doubt many workplaces may learn more of what works and what doesn’t by eval-uating and communicating the findings more than is the practice today.

Small workplaces tend to evaluate more than large, in Denmark and Norway aroundtwice as many strongly agree in small workplaces than large, while in Finland it isthree times as many and in Sweden five times as many – 27 pct. of the respondentsin small Swedish workplaces strongly agree , compared to 5 pct. in large workplaces.

There is also a significant difference between the private and public workplaces. Twiceas many strongly agree that innovation is evaluated in the private workplaces than inthe public.

3. The initiative

The Nordic people believe strongly in the importance of being creative and innova-tive in the job. 42 pct. strongly agree that this is important in their job. Adding thosethat believe it is important, the total number rises to an impressive 85 pct. In Swe-den, 59 pct. of the total workforce believe it is very important to be creative and in-novate. There is no doubt that the vast majority of the workforce is well aware whatis expected on the job today.

However, only 18 pct. believe they are very creative and innovative in their job. Thisindicates a serious imbalance that to a large extent has to do with weak innovationconditions in the workplaces and a lack of innovative competencies.

As a result, only 14 pct. state that they produce new ideas very often, again in sharpcontrast to the perceived need in their job to do so.

Creativity drive

The creative and innovative workplace needs each individual to be aware of the needfor being just that – creative and innovative. Without that awareness and sense of ne-cessity, the initiative to innovate is most likely to be weak in the workplace.


SuccessKPI






On average, 60 pct. of the Nordic entrepreneurs find it very important to be creativeand innovative in their job. There are important differences between the countries,though. 85 pct. of the Swedish entrepreneurs find it very important to be creativeand innovative, while the same is true of 68 pct. of the Danish, 44 pct. of the Nor-wegian and 42 pct. of the Finnish entrepreneurs. Obviously, the innovativeness inthe new businesses and workplaces is much lower in Finland and Norway, than inSweden in particular. This is an indication of a weak entrepreneurial culture, theentrepreneurs traditionally being the leaders of innovation.

54 pct. of the managers find it very important to be creative and innovative in theirjobs. That’s close to the level of entrepreneurs and thus a good indicator that themindset among managers is on level with the entrepreneurs, representing the most dy-namic group of the workforce. Also here we find significant differences between thecountries, again Sweden leading with 71 pct. of the managers finding it very impor-tant to be creative and innovative, while 63 pct. of the Danes, 44 pct. of the Norwe-gian and 41 pct. of the Finnish managers share that view.

Among the employees, 36 pct. of the Nordic workforce find it very important to becreative and innovative, again with the same differences as with entrepreneurs – 53pct. of Swedes, 44 pct. of Danes, 24 pct. of Norwegians and 21 pct. of the Finns findit very important.

Clearly, there are shared national mindsets of the importance of innovation, amongentrepreneurs, managers and employees alike. The difference between the three groupsis the same in the four countries, only with a difference in the level. The Swedish andDanish workforces seem to be more tuned to the urgency of innovation. However,

How important is it to be creative and innovative in your job?Response: "Very important”


%

63

44

68

57

4549 50

71

53

85

70

56 58 59

44

24

4442

2934

27

41

21

4236

2225 27

54

36

60

51

3842 41

0

25

50

75

100


preneurs

Small

organisations




there is room for improving the focus on innovation, especially among the employ-ees – which to a large extent is the motivational task of management.

Smaller workplaces tend to find it more important to be creative and innovative, al-though the difference is not significant. The importance of ideas is understood in allworkplaces. Also, there is no significant difference between the private and publicworkplaces.

Creative ability

Realizing that being creative and innovative is important is one thing. Delivering onthe necessity is another. When asked how creative and innovative you are in your job,the level of the most positive answers drops quite significantly. Overall, only 29 pct. of the entrepreneurs think that they are very creative and inno-vative in their job. That’s half as many as find it very important to be that. Obviously,the ability to be creative and innovative doesn’t match the need. The national differ-ences resemble the differences of the previous statement – 46 pct. of the Swedishentrepreneurs think they are creative, 40 pct. of the Danish, only 17 pct. of the Nor-wegian and 14 pct. of the Finnish.

Among managers, 24 pct. think they are very creative and innovative in their job.Again, that’s less than half that think it is very important to be that. Swedes top with34 pct., Danes follow with 26 pct., Norwegians 18 pct. and Finnish managers 17pct.

How creative and innovative are you in your job?Response: "Very much”


%


Smallorganisations


26

16

40

32

1621 19

34

23

46

38

24

30

23

18

10

17 1713

15

10

17

1014

16

1014

9

24

15

2926

1620

15

0

25

50

75


And only 15 pct. of the employees think they are very creative and innovative in theirjob. Again, less than half of the numbers that believes it important to be creative andinnovative. And again, the Swedes top with 23 pct., the Danes follow with 16 pct.,the Norwegians and Finns with 10 pct. each.

The difference between the perceived need to be creative and the perceived ability todeliver indicates that there is a need for more innovation competencies in the Nordicworkplaces. To compete efficiently in the world economy the gap between what isneeded and what is delivered should be diminished by raising the level of perform-ance.

Again, smaller workplaces tend to be more creative and innovative. The difference be-tween the private and public workplaces is, however, not significant.

Ideas

One way to measure creativity is to look at the output in terms of ideas. When askedhow often you get work-related ideas, the answers – not surprisingly - closely resem-ble the level of the previous answer as to how creative and innovative you are.

Overall, 28 pct. of the entrepreneurs reply that they get new ideas very often. This istrue of 38 pct. of the Swedish and 36 pct. of the Danish entrepreneurs, while of 22pct. and 16 pct. of the Norwegian and Finnish entrepreneurs.

Among managers, 21 pct. say they get ideas very often. The Danish managers top with26 pct., trailed by the Swedish with 22 pct. and Norwegian with 21 pct., while only

How often do you get work related ideas?Response: "Very often”


%


Smallorganisations


26

12

36

23

1517 16

22

14

38

27

14

18 17

21

10

22 20

14 151313

6

1613

69

6

21

10

28

21

1215

13

0

25

50

75



13 pct. of the Finnish managers get ideas very often. In the ability to get work relatedideas, the managers are much more level across the countries, with Finland as the no-table exception.

Only 10 pct. of the employees get ideas very often. Swedes get the most with 14 pct.,Danes closely trailing with 12 pct., Norwegians with 10 pct. and Finns with 6 pct.

The gap between the need to be creative and innovative, and the actual productionof ideas, is quite wide. Clearly, the conditions in the workplaces for being creativeand competing on ideas should be strengthened.

4. The Management

Management plays an important role as facilitators of the creative process. The man-agers – whether middle management or top management - must be receptive to ideas,see to it that everybody in the workplace knows where to go with their ideas, securefeedback on all ideas – whether good or bad – and put good ideas to use. If thesemanagement tasks are not performed, the motivation to produce ideas will diminishin the workplace.

The Nordic managers are in general attentive to the ideas in the workplace. 60 pct.of the employees respond that management often listens to their ideas. However,when asked whether management listens every time, the number drops to 10 pct.Obviously, there are inconsistencies in the way ideas are treated. Prudent idea man-agement is open to all ideas, not just some ideas from some individuals.

Overall, most people in the Nordic workplaces know where to go when they have anidea. 54 pct. of the managers and 39 pct. of the employees strongly agree that theyknow where to turn when they have an idea.

However, only 25 pct. of the managers and 17 pct. of the employees strongly agreethat they get feedback on their ideas. No doubt, the feedback needs to be improved.Ideally everybody should be rewarded for an idea with feedback. Lack of feedback is



SuccessKPI





a signal of lack of interest, it demotivates the idea generation and prevents learning.Obviously, management has not fostered a strong feedback culture, making sure thatinternal and external competencies are engaged in qualifying the idea.

Ideas in the Nordic workplaces are often used. Few agree that all of their ideas areused, which is not to be expected – not all ideas are great or possible to execute - but77 pct. of the managers and 54 pct. of the employees say that their ideas are usedoften, which is a positive indicator.

Management attentiveness

It is important for the management to be attentive and open to the ideas that are pro-duced in the workplace. This encourages the production of ideas and the sharing ofideas and knowledge.

57 pct. of the entrepreneurs reply that management always listens to their ideas.Adding those that reply “often” the percentage is close to 100. This is hardly surpris-ing, since the entrepreneurs often are the management of the company, althoughsome have partners or a board. There are only small differences in this between thecountries.

21 pct. of the managers say that management – being managerial colleagues, topmanagement or the board – always listens to their ideas. This is more surprising, sincemanagers typically have a responsibility in running the workplace – yet only one infive says that top management always listens.

Only 10 pct. of the employees say that management always listens to their ideas. Thislow number should give rise to concern.

The answers clearly illustrate that openness to ideas drop hierarchically – the morepower the individual has, the more attention the ideas get. This is not an ideal work-place culture. Business history documents that many great ideas spring from em-ployees with no management position. Clearly, Nordic management should addressthe imbalance.

There are not significant national variations in the answers, although Sweden seemsto perform poorly with only 11 pct. of the managers and 4 pct. of the employeesagreeing that management always listens to them.

There is, however, a very significant difference between small and large workplaces.33 pct. of the respondents in small workplaces agree that their ideas always get at-



tention, while only 10 pct. agree in large workplaces. In Sweden, the numbers are 34pct. and 3 pct., indicating a serious innovation barrier in the large workplaces.

Also, respondents in private workplaces get about twice as much attention to theirideas as respondents in public workplaces.

Idea delivery

Having an idea is one thing. Knowing what to do with it and where to turn to is thefirst step towards innovation.

71 pct. of the Nordic entrepreneurs strongly agree that they know where to take theiridea. Again, this is hardly surprising, since they often represent the management ofthe workplace. However, some ideas may extend beyond the scope of the workplacedemanding involvement from external parties, creating uncertainty as to how to pro-ceed with the idea.

54 pct. of the managers strongly agree that they know where to take their idea. Thedifference between managers and entrepreneurs may be puzzling, since managers aresupposed to be familiar with the organizational structure and responsibilities in theworkplace. This is, however, obviously not the case in many workplaces.

39 pct. of the employees strongly agree that they know where go with their ideas.This illustrates that the further down in the workplace hierarchy, the less clear is the

How often does management listen to your ideas?Response: "Always/every time"


%


Smallorganisations


22

11

65

38

12

19

1411

4

57

34

3

14

4

26

16

49

28

18

24

15

25

9

57

33

7

19

10

21

10

57

33

10

19

11

0

25

50

75


path of an idea. Obviously, the structures and processes of idea development need tobe strengthened.

There are no important national variations in the responses. There is, however, a cleartendency that respondents working in small workplaces have a better knowledge aboutwhere to take their idea, than respondents in large workplaces. Also, respondents inprivate workplaces have a better understanding of the path of an idea than respon-dents in public workplaces.

Feedback

Getting feedback on an idea is an important motivation for the individual. Ideas thatare delivered, but left to an unknown fate with no feedback as to whether they aregood or bad, demotivates the idea production.

50 pct. of the entrepreneurs strongly agree that they always get feedback on theirideas. Adding those that agree, the number is above 80 pct. In the case of the entre-preneur, feedback most likely stems from a number of sources, internal and external,the entrepreneur actively seeking feedback, which reflects an innovative workplaceenvironment.

25 pct. of the managers strongly agree that they get feedback on their ideas. Ideallythere should not be such a big difference between entrepreneurs and managers. Thisindicates that managers are not seeking feedback as much as the entrepreneurs, sug-

Statement: I know where to take my new ideasResponse: "Agree very much"


%


Smallorganisations


53

35

75

62

34

44

36

55

44

82

70

42

52

45

52

39

65

57

39

49

38

54

37

61

54

34

4438

54

39

71

61

37

47

39

0

25

50

75

100



gesting a less innovative workplace environment, not mobilizing the full potential ofinternal and external competencies in the idea process.

17 pct. of the employees strongly agree that they get feedback on their ideas. Sinceproviding feedback is a management responsibility, this illustrates that managementcould improve the feedback-process substantially, thus motivating and qualifying theidea production to a greater degree.

There are no significant national differences in the responses. However, respondentsworking in small workplaces tend to get more feedback – about twice as much – asrespondents in large workplaces. Also, respondents in private workplaces get morefeedback than respondents in public workplaces.

Idea usage

Good ideas need to be used. If not, the motivation to produce ideas diminishes andthe workplace will of course not benefit from the potential of the idea.

32 pct. of the entrepreneurs reply that all their ideas are put to use. Adding those thatreply that their ideas are used often, the number climbs to 93 pct. Provided that theideas have been evaluated and tested this implies a high quality of the ideas and ahighly productive usage of ideas.

Only 4 pct. of the managers reply that all their ideas are used. Adding those that replyoften used, the number climbs to 77 pct.

I get feedback on my ideasResponse: "Agree very much"


%


Smallorganisations


30

18

56

40

17

25

2023

15

62

45

13

25

13

27

20

46

33

19

26

1920

16

35

30

14

1917

25

17

50

37

16

24

17

0

25

50

75


Merely 2 pct. of the employees reply that all their ideas are put to use. Adding thosethat reply often used, the number is 54 pct., however.

In spite of lacking attentiveness and poor feedback, many of the ideas produced areput to use in the Nordic workplaces. It is not to be expected that all ideas are used –not all ideas are great.

Fewer Finnish employees find that their ideas are used – 39 pct. say often or always,while in Denmark and Norway this is true of 64 pct. and 61 pct. of the employees,and 52 pct. in Sweden. The same variation is true of the managers.

There is a huge difference between small and large workplaces, though. It is 15 timesas likely for a respondent in a small workplace to have her or his idea put to use thanit is for a respondent in a large workplace. 15 pct. of the respondents in small work-places say their ideas are used every time, while only 1 pct. in large workplaces.

Also, respondents in private workplaces are about twice as likely to have their ideasused as respondents in public workplaces.

My ideas are being usedResponse: "Every time"


%


Smallorganisations


3 2

36

15

15

25

2

34

19

2

7

341

36

16

1

7

14

2

21

10

15

242

32

15

1

62

0

25

50

75



5. The Processes

It is important for the development of ideas and innovation that there are clearprocesses for working with ideas as well as innovation projects.

Internally it is important to involve the relevant competencies across fields of ex-pertise and organizational boundaries to ensure that all relevant knowledge is lever-aged in producing and processing an idea.

Externally relevant stakeholders should also be involved, in particular customers andsuppliers.

Only 8 pct. strongly agree that there are clear procedures for how to work with newideas in their workplace. Even when adding those that agree, the number is below 50pct. Clearly, the Nordic workplaces need to develop much better and transparentprocesses for working with ideas. Otherwise creativity and motivation to produceideas may lag, good ideas may never be developed and innovation projects may lackthe necessary quality to produce success.

19 pct. strongly agree that everybody works well across fields of expertise and orga-nizational boundaries in the workplace. This is not an impressive number and indi-cates that cooperation could well be stronger in the Nordic workplaces andcompetencies are not leveraged very well in promoting innovation.

Only 10 pct. strongly agree that customers are involved in the innovation processand 8 pct. strongly agree that suppliers are involved. Obviously, external partners arenot well integrated into the innovation process of the Nordic workplaces, indicatinga loss of ideas and knowledge that may very well increase the potential for success. Thenumbers are surprisingly low considering user-driven innovation – involving the cus-tomer in the innovation process – often is cited a particular Nordic innovation dis-cipline.



SuccessKPI




Methods

It is important for the innovation output that there are clear processes at the work-place for working with ideas and innovation projects. This ensures that ideas are eval-uated and that innovation projects have the competencies and resources that areneeded to develop an idea into a successful innovation.

26 pct. of the entrepreneurs strongly agree that there are clear procedures for work-ing with ideas in their workplace. Adding the respondents replying agree, the num-ber exceeds 50 pct. Although entrepreneurs stand out as the best in creating aworkplace that supports innovation, many lack formal standards for processing theideas. Obviously, there is room to enhance the quality of the innovation processes.

However, only 8 pct. of the managers and 6 pct. of the employees strongly agree thatthere are clear procedures for working with ideas at their workplace. This is muchlower than the responses from the entrepreneurs and illustrates a broad lack of clarityin the Nordic workplaces about how to compete efficiently on ideas. It is hard toimagine that there would be no procedures for how to produce a component at a fac-tory or how to clean an office building. Yet few have made it clear how to produceideas.

There is little variation between the countries, yet the Swedish entrepreneurs stand outas the most systematic in their approach to working with ideas – 47 pct. stronglyagree that they have clear procedures.


Statement: We have procedures for working with innovationResponse: "Agree very much"


%


Smallorganisations


9 7

24

118

10

57 6

47

31

5

14

5

11

6

19

10 911

564

1412

2

63

86

26

16

610

5

0

25

50

75

There is a significant difference between small and large workplaces. On average, 16pct. strongly agree to clear procedures in small workplaces, while 6 pct. agree in large.Sweden stands out as the country with the greatest difference. 31 pct. strongly agreein small workplaces and only 5 pct. strongly agree in large workplaces that there areclear procedures for working with ideas.

There is also a significant difference between private and public workplaces. Twice asmany strongly agree to clear procedures in the private workplaces, than in the pub-lic.

Cooperation

Innovation demands a free flow of ideas and knowledge across fields of expertise andorganizational boundaries. By ensuring that all competencies contribute to the in-novation process, success is more likely.

44 pct. of the entrepreneurs strongly agree that everybody works well across fields ofexpertise and organizational boundaries in the workplace. This is an indication ofgood cooperation and a workplace that leverages competencies well.

22 pct. of the managers and 16 pct. of the employees strongly agree that everybodyworks well across fields of expertise and organizational boundaries in the workplace.Clearly, cooperation is weaker and the utilization of the competencies in the work-place is lower in other workplaces than the entrepreneurial.



Statement: We work well across sections and professionsResponse: "Agree very much"


%


Smallorganisations


25

17

47

34

15

22

171814

57

39

12

23

10

26

17

43

33

19

26

16

21

15

29

24

12

1815

22

16

44

33

14

22

14

0

25

50

75

There are no significant variations between the countries, although Swedishentrepreneurs excel with 57 pct. and the Finnish lag with 29 pct. However, there is adifference between small and large workplaces, the smaller cooperating about twiceas well as the larger.

Also, cooperation is better at private workplaces than public.

External involvement

No single workplace may presume to possess all the competencies that may contributeto developing an idea into a successful innovation. External agents, such as customersand suppliers, often have fresh views, untapped ideas and hidden knowledge aboutprocesses and products. Therefore, it is wise to engage those in the innovation process,strengthening the potential of success.

18 pct. of the entrepreneurs involve customers to a high degree in the innovationprocess and 23 pct. involve suppliers to a high degree. Although one in five coope -rates closely with prime partners of the workplace, there is clearly room for increas-ing the cooperation, harvesting the ideas and the knowledge these partners maycontribute.

12 pct. of the managers and 8 pct. of the employees strongly agree that customers areinvolved in the innovation process, while 10 pct. of the managers and 6 pct. of theemployees strongly agree that suppliers are involved in the innovation process. Thesenumbers are clearly very low and illustrate a need for strengthening the cooperation


Statement: We involve customers in development of new productsResponse: "Agree very much”



Smallorganisations


%

15

10

23

1511

16

57 7

19

13

5

10

3

13

7

1714

9

13

4

12

7

1513

610

6

128

18

14

8

13

4

0

25

50

75

with the prime external partners in order to exploit their ideas and knowledge forsuccessful innovation.

There are not significant variations between the countries, except Finnishentrepreneurs involve external partners less than their colleagues, especially when itcomes to suppliers. Also Swedish workplaces in general seem to involve external par-ties less than others.

Small workplaces are better at involving external partners than large. It is about twiceas common to involve them in small workplaces as in large.

Private workplaces are much better at involving customers and suppliers than pub-lic. It is about four times as common for private workplaces to engage these externalpartners in the innovation efforts as it is for public workplaces.



Statement: We involve suppliers in development of new productsResponse: "Agree very much”



Smallorganisations


%

107

27

13

7

12

4

86

26

15

5

11

3

14

7

25

16

1014

4

10

4

14

10

57

4

10

6

23

13

711

4

0

25

50

75

About the Survey The survey about innovative force in the Nordic countries is completed in coopera-tion with Innovation Inside and Userneeds. Userneeds is responsible for the collec-tion of data, which has been carried out from 1 to 18 December 2009 through anonline questionnaire. The approach taken by Userneeds to collect information aboutthe innovative force in 2010 is described in the following.

The survey about innovative force among Nordic citizens aged 18 to 65 is conductedamong members of Userneeds’ Nordic online panels. All in all 15,368 members of theNordic panel have been invited to participate in the survey. Only panelists who ful-fil the criterion for the target group have been able to answer the questionnaire. Thecriteria to be fulfilled were that the panelists were between 18-65 years of age andemployed.

The group of people of 15,368 has been chosen so that they make up a representa-tive sample of the populations of the 4 Nordic countries. People, who had not an-swered the survey within 2 days after receiving it, were sent a reminder by e-mail.The e-mail reminded the panelist that he/she was still able to participate in the sur-vey, and that his/her participation was of great importance.

Data has been collected without the use of quotas, and the collection of data endedwhen there was a sufficient amount of answers. After this, the data was adapted inorder to match the demographic make-up of each country in terms of age, gender andgeographic regions among people aged 18-65. The adaptation of data has been car-ried out through the professional survey software Catglobe. Userneeds has delivered4 data files, one for each country, with 1,500 answers. Altogether they provide rep-resentative samples of the 4 countries’ population.

The answers are collected after the following procedure: Userneeds has invited 15,368 people to participate in the survey. From this number6,454 people have started the survey (response rate = 42 pct.). Out of the 6,454 peo-ple who have started the survey 6,003 have completed the survey and 451 havedropped out before answering all questions. This gives an impressive completion rateof 93 per cent.

The Nordic consumer panels

Userneeds has consumer panels in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. TheNordic consumer panels have existed since 2003, and now hold more than 250,000panelists.


The Nordic panelists have been recruited from more than 500 private and publicweb sites. This broad platform of recruitment ensures a reasonable spread in terms ofthe interests, life styles, socio demographic characteristics and values of the panelists.It is not possible to sign up for the panels, since one must be invited personally to joinany of Userneeds’ panels.

The process of recruitment for Userneeds’ panels is well documented and stringent.When someone accepts an invitation to become a member of the panel, he/she en-ters some very basic data about themselves, such as gender, birth year, region, occu-pation and e-mail address. Immediately after, an invitation is sent to the e-mail addressinviting the person to become a member of the panel. The e-mail also contains a linkto a questionnaire, where the new panelist is asked to reenter the data he/she has pre-viously entered and additional information such as level of income, level of educationand number of children. Only if the information corresponds with the previouslyregistered data, the person is accepted into the panel.



This report has been produced by Innovation Inside,a development company committed to strengthening the innovation culture.

For further information please contact

Mikael R. Lindholm, director Tel: +45 20409526E-mail: [email protected] W: www.innovationinside.dk

Important contributors to the report are

Søren Salomo, professor of innovation management at DTU Executive School of Business, Denmark - e-mail: [email protected]ørn Haugaard, consultant at KOAN, Denmark – e-mail: [email protected]

The survey and data processing has been produced by Userneeds, for further information please contact

Henrik Vincentz, CEOGl. Kongevej 1182000 FrederiksbergDenmarkTel: +45 28897575E-mail: [email protected] W: www.userneeds.dk


the of the creative massesh24-files.s3.amazonaws.com/24949/22194-czsd0.pdf · the rise of the...

Documents