Creativity ‘drives business success’, according to new research published by Adobe and conducted by Forrester.
Fifty-eight per cent of the 300 senior managers surveyed said firms that foster creativity had 2013 revenues exceeding their 2012 revenues by 10 per cent or more. In comparison, only 20 per cent of less creative companies performed as well.
Yet, despite the perceived benefits of creativity, 61 per cent of respondents do not see their company as creative. Only 11 per cent said their business practices were perfectly aligned with firms readily recognised as creative. The majority (51 per cent) said they were neutral or not aligned with creative firms, and 10 per cent felt their practices were actually opposite to creative firms.
Meanwhile, 69 per cent of creative businesses reported winning awards and recognition for being ‘best place to work’. Only 27 per cent of less creative brands achieved similar success.
David Wadhwani, senior vice president, digital media at Adobe, commented on the findings: “For years, business leaders have focused on things like employee productivity, process efficiency and workforce planning as the key success drivers for their companies. 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 per cent more likely to report a commanding market leadership position over competitors.”
