Growth Champions: The Battle for Sustained Innovation Leadership

Part I

The Growth Agenda: The Changing Dynamics of Innovation

Growth is a shared ambition for many companies and governments. For the vast majority creating more wealth by improving productivity and delivering innovation is a priority. It is a prerequisite for maintaining living standards in the developed world and building wider wealth creation and distribution in emerging economies.

Improving lives by building wealth is not a new idea. The industrial revolution in the 19th century heralded accelerated economic activity and production but as the post-colonial legacy steers nations from growth through regional aggrandizement, economic growth through the development of business has become a central focus for many. Economic growth comes with its own set of challenges, however. The cost to our environment is perhaps the most well recognized but as society becomes more global and we spend less time interacting with our local community, concerns around social issues are also beginning to emerge. Recently a sizable minority thinks that, in our resource-constrained world, we ought to look at the implications of unimpeded, consumption-driven growth and consider an alternative approach which will provide wealth without compromising on social and environmental well-being.

However it manifests itself, a growth engine that drives the economy, provides more choice for consumers, increases wealth, ...