Is Asia really closing the gap in R&D and innovation? Depends on how we measure it.
According to The Economist in “Rising the East”
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12863581&fsrc=rss
they are in quantitative terms (South Korean Firms have for instances gone beyond than European and Japaneses ones), but not in qualitative ones. For, as the article explains, most of the innovation in Europe + America is not going , as it happens in Asia, to Core Hardware but to Advanced Hardware, Software and Services. Or, if you like, they are directing it to more profitable areas with higher ROI.
Moreover, I would add the following: Innovation does not only take place in Products and Services. It can also be applied to Management and Marketing Practices, where significant advances are taken and are not necessarily reflected in numerical statistics. And in this Area is where the gap is really significant.
If we take the referred example of Apple Inc., I woud say that their main advances have not been in the products in themselves, but in new ways of understanding the customers needs and coping with them with disruptive Business Models.
How long will the real gap last? Difficult to say, but less than you imagine. The real gap will eventually be completely closed by Asian Innovators. Presumably, with our asian students taking the lead.
Think Different!!!! Think innovately!!!
Ignacio Gafo
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The future of marketing is always to follow the motto: “Don’t imitate, innovate” (also an Hugo Boss slogan). Imitation can only take you so far (to where everybody is). To go beyond and to evolve with the consumer, trends must not only be followed but created, needs must not only be satisfied but created as well… How do we come up with these innovative ideas? Simple: Inspiration.
In my opinion Imitation can be a very helpful strategy to reach a positioned market in order to analyze it and understand it…also as a reference on how the market itself behaves.. People can see it as a “flattery” to a positioned brand. However the real success of any alternative Brand relies on how well do they assimilate the knowledge obtained in the past years and furthermore on how do they innovate the processes and products.
Based on the information provided by the article we can assume that the gap in R+D between Occidental countries and Asia is getting smaller. However We still have to wait to measure the impact on good and products that this Innovation could bring.
Saludos