Findings from the 2021 “R&D and Innovation Agenda” research study
For Wellspring’s third-annual R&D and Innovation Agenda study, we searched for answers to foundational innovation management questions – of the type that tend to invite endless speculation and debate:
- Can large firms really innovate like startups?
- How do high-growth companies innovate differently?
- Which innovation practices drive corporate performance?
Thanks to our 2021 study, Wellspring can now offer clear answers grounded in evidence. We fielded a quantitative survey of 300 R&D and Innovation leaders at $1B+ firms across industry classes – which we then supplemented with dozens of executive phone interviews. Leveraging the data, we built an econometric model for predicting which firm-wide innovation behaviors correlate with above-average revenue growth.
We invite you to join us for a webinar on Wednesday, September 15th at 1pm CT where we’ll unveil key findings from the study. Among other things, you’ll learn:
- Which ONE innovation funding mechanism do breakaway-growth firms uniquely favor?
- Which ONE approach to portfolio governance regularly produces exceptional returns?
- Which ONE type of innovation partner correlates with superior revenue performance?
- Which ONE model of R&D / Business collaboration leads to high-potential innovations?
In some cases, these findings puncture the conventional wisdom. In other cases, they validate widely-held beliefs. Overall, a striking pattern emerges: the best-performing companies share four innovation practices in common. We’ll explain how these four behaviors help drive breakaway revenue growth over time, and we’ll explore why they work so well together as an integrated approach to modern innovation management.
