GE survey: 88% of M'sian execs value innovation and believe SMEs can be as innovative as large companies

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian business executives of companies averaging 1,200 employees cite innovation as both a driver and challenge for growth, and are more supportive of innovation compared with the global average, findings show in the 2013 General Electric (GE) Global Innovation Barometer.

Source from (The Star Online): http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/2/5/business/12670232&sec=business
Published: February 05, 2013

Conducted last quarter, the research was based on interviews with 3,100 senior business executives across 25 countries via telephone.

44% of Malaysian respondents - in contrast to the global average of 30% - expressed that innovation would result in greater competition that would make the overall environment more challenging, GE Asean chief executive officer Stuart Dean said at a press conference yesterday.

This is the first time that Malaysia is included in the conglomerate's Global Innovation Barometer, which is in its third year.

“All our big infrastructure businesses are in this country,” Dean explained.

“The Barometer provides valuable insight into the minds of these executives and what they view as the opportunities and gaps in creating an innovative and sustainable business model in line with Malaysian's aim towards becoming a high-income nation by 2020,” he added.

The survey also revealed that 85% of Malaysian businesses are increasingly looking at collaborative innovation, while over 88% believe that SMEs and individuals can be as innovative as large companies.

The Barometer identified the existence of barriers to collaborative innovation attributed to issues like the lack of effective Internet Protocol (IP) protection and confidentiality, trust issues and the poaching of talent and knowledge.

“There were some concerns as to the effective collaborations between companies and universities to produce innovative thinkers.

“This is an area that needs looking into,” Dean said.

With regards to GE's business outlook in Malaysia, Dean confirmed that there will be new investments in the following sectors this year - power generation, aviation, oil and gas, healthcare and transportation.

“Especially in the aviation and power generation industries,” Dean said. “We expect revenues in all our businesses to increase this year.”