Innovation culture fuelling business resilience in India: Study

The study found that in a short span of six months, organisations in India have increased their ability to innovate by 4 per cent by maturing their culture of innovation.

New Delhi: Amid the pandemic, 77 per cent of Indian organisations have found innovation to be critical or important to their performance and resilience, said a Microsoft and IDC report released on Tuesday.

The study found that in a short span of six months, organisations in India have increased their ability to innovate by 4 per cent by maturing their culture of innovation.

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The study also showed that close to 78 per cent of India organisations are speeding up digitalisation in a variety of ways to adapt to the new reality.

This included launching digital products and introducing digital payments to embracing ecommerce and automation.

As a result, Indian companies are aiming at increasing their revenue from digital products and services to 50 per cent in the next three years from 36 per cent at present.

According to the survey, 64 per cent of respondents acknowledged that innovation has become easier in the post-COVID-19 era.

Prior to the pandemic, only 32.5 per cent of Indian business found innovation in their products and services easy.

“Innovation is no longer an option, but a necessity. We have seen how the recent crisis has spurred the need for transformation; for organizations to adapt and innovate in order to emerge stronger,” Rajiv Sodhi, Chief Operating Officer, Microsoft India, told reporters in a virtual roundtable.

“We commissioned this research to gain better understanding of the relationship between having a culture of innovation and an organization’s growth. But now, more than achieving growth, we see that having a mature culture of innovation translates to resilience, and strength to withstand economic crises to recover,” he added.

The study introduced the culture of innovation framework, which spans the dimensions of people, process, data, and technology, to assess organizations’ approach to innovation.

It surveyed 439 business decision makers and 438 workers in India within a 6-month period, before and since COVID-19.

The India study was part of a broader survey among 3,312 business decision makers and 3,495 workers across 15 markets in the Asia Pacific region.

When asked about their priorities for the next 12 months, organisations in India (45 per cent) indicated that they will focus on technology as most essential for business resilience and recovery.

According to the report, some best practices will include developing a culture that promotes investing in disruptive technologies and leveraging data to differentiate and enhance products and services.

The other area of focus is people. In the coming year, 18.5 per cent businesses in India plan to focus on embracing risks and driving innovation through ongoing learning, and the right talent and skills.