Benchmarking innovation best practice

Notes the heightening pressure towards innovation and the current patchy understanding of ideal practices in this area. Considers factors affecting innovation and reports on a study aimed at identifying best practice including firms from a range of sectors. Points to some key characteristics of best practice such as corporate philosophy, clarity of goals and cross‐functional interaction. Identifies the need to excel both in terms of hard and soft innovation, the former relating to structures and the latter relating to the management of such structures.