That oft-repeated comment about how Japan always gets the gadgets first? A study confirms the country is among the most innovative when it comes to new products taking off.
Japan ranked first in a study that says new products there take an average of 5.4 years to gain critical mass, faster than any other nation.
The Nordic countries, Norway, Sweden,
Netherlands and Denmark came next.
The United States finished sixth with an average time of 6.2 years for a product to take off.
India, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and China ranked lowest.
The study published in the latest issue of Marketing Science evaluated 31 countries and analyzed 16 product categories over 50 years split into two broad areas: fun, used for information or entertainment and those used only for work
"The changing dynamics of the global marketplace are redefining the concept of innovativeness," said Deepa Chandrasekaran, assistant professor of marketing at Lehigh University and one of the co-authors of the report in a statement.
"More products are being introduced at a quick rate, and the ability of a nation to embrace those changes is a true indicator of how innovative it has become," she said.
The study also revealed that newly developed or developing countries like South Korea and
Venezuela saw faster product takeoff times than more established
Mediterranean nations with longer histories of industrialization, said the authors.
"What we're learning is that culture plays a significant role in influencing how quickly a country is willing to embrace new products and technology but it's not an exclusive indicator," said Gerard Tellis, director of the Center for Global Innovation at the University of Southern California's
Marshall School of Business. "Differences in wealth are also contributing factors."
Photo: Neon Osaka (timlam18/Flickr)
