Creativity: It’s about the bottomline, research finds

• Creative companies 50% more likely to command market leadership position
• Businesses need to incorporate creativity as a key organisational KPI

COMPANIES that foster creativity achieve more exceptional revenue growth than their peers, according to the Creative Dividend survey conducted by Forrester Consulting and commissioned by Adobe.
 
Fifty-eight percent of survey respondents that said their firms foster creativity had 2013 revenues exceeding their 2012 revenues by 10% or more. In contrast, only 20% of less creative companies performed similarly, Adobe said in a statement.
 
The study aims to quantify one of the great intangibles in global business: Creativity. The Creative Dividend survey shows that what makes a company succeed – the ability to foster innovation; develop exceptional talent and leadership; and a high degree of brand recognition – is influenced by its creative perspective, practices, and culture.
 
In May 2014, Adobe commissioned Forrester Consulting to investigate how creativity influences business outcomes. The study surveyed senior managers from more than 300 large global companies across a diverse set of industries to understand how creativity impacts business results.
 
Decision-makers from large enterprises in Australia, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the United States and the United Kingdom who influence creative software purchases were interviewed.
 
The research findings show that creativity is essential to current and future business success, Adobe argued.
 
“For years, business leaders have focused on things like employee productivity, process efficiency and workforce planning as the key success drivers for their companies,” said David Wadhwani, senior vice president of Digital Media at Adobe.
 
“But over the past few years, the mindset has shifted. Leading companies recognise the importance of another key success driver – the need to infuse creativity into all aspects of the business environment – from strategy and culture, to innovation and customer engagement.
 
“And creative companies are 50% more likely to report a commanding market leadership position over competitors,” he added.
 
Other key findings include:

• More creative companies enjoy greater market share and competitive leadership: Creative companies are more likely to report a commanding market leadership position with a higher market share than competitors. Of those reporting market share leadership, creative companies outnumber their less creative counterparts by a factor of 1.5.

• Despite the perceived benefits of creativity, 61% of companies do not see their companies as creative: Only 11% said their practices were perfectly aligned with firms readily recognised as creative. The majority (51%) said they were neutral or not aligned with creative firms, and 10% felt their practices were, in fact, the opposite of what creative companies do.

• Creative companies win recognition as a best place to work: A positive employee work environment is a fertile breeding ground for creativity. 69% of creative firms also reported winning awards and national recognition for being a ‘best place to work.’ Just 27% of less creative companies achieved similar accolades.

“Businesses across Asia Pacific have embraced the shift towards a knowledge-based economy – those which focus only on efficiency and pricing will eventually reach a glass ceiling, while those which embrace and foster creativity and innovation will lead the way,” said Paul Robson (pic), Asia Pacific president at Adobe.
 
“Businesses need to incorporate creativity as a key organisational KPI (key performance indicator), on par with revenues and brand equity, as a measure of success,” he added.
 
To request a copy of the full study, go here.
 
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