''New'' Does Not Mean ''Better'' in All Countries

IIIP Innovation Confidence 2007 Index Reveals Skepticism in
Europe, Enthusiasm in Asia
SAN FRANCISCO--(Business Wire)--A new global survey of innovation acceptance reveals that
consumers' confidence in the ability of more advanced products and
services to improve their lives varies widely around the world and
that up to half of consumers in some European continental countries
are skeptical of the value of innovation. Only 30 percent of Dutch
working age adults believe that new products or services will improve
their lives in the next six months, compared with 60 percent of United
States consumers, and 80 percent in India and the United Arab
Emirates, according to The Institute for Innovation & Information
Productivity, which released the study today.

Despite its reputation for innovation and entrepreneurship, the
United States falls approximately midway in the innovation confidence
index, the same as China, but behind fast-growing economies with young
populations like Brazil, India, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates.
Young, well-educated students, business people and full-time employees
are more likely to be innovation confident. Given all of the
considerations measured, in some continental European countries women
are less likely to be innovation confident than men.

Overall, the continental European countries surveyed have the
lowest rates of innovation confidence. For example, despite the
reputation of their country for widespread use of mobile
telecommunications, only one third of Finns expect in the next six
months to try products or services that use new technology, compared
with over two thirds of Brazilian, Indian, Irish and UAE residents.

The results of the study, which was based on almost 25,000
respondents, is a new index of "Innovation Confidence" indicating the
openness of the twelve surveyed countries to new technology and
innovation as shown:

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*T
IIIP Innovation Confidence Index
(from the most confident nation to the least)
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Nation IIIP Innovation Sample size
Confidence Index
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United Arab Emirates 76 2097
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India 73 1601
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Brazil 68 2000
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Ireland 66 1897
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China 60 2666
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United States 58 1583
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United Kingdom 55 2069
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Italy 54 2000
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Turkey 51 2400
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Slovenia 48 3020
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Finland 44 2005
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Netherlands 38 1479
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*T

"The difference in innovation confidence across the countries in
our sample is striking. In some continental European countries, over
half of working-age people lack confidence in new innovations. We
found a more positive acceptance of innovation in fast-growing
economies," said the report's author Dr. Jonathan Levie of the
University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

"We can't yet say what effect these results imply for the rates of
domestic innovation in these countries. But given that innovative
entrepreneurs need people to buy their new products or services,
Europe may be right to be concerned," Levie said.

With technological-based and other advanced products spreading
throughout world markets, the new index was developed to determine
which regions and countries are more receptive to new innovative
goods. The IIIP Innovation Confidence Index, which is distinct from
the general consumer confidence, was commissioned by the IIIP and
implemented by the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at the
University of Strathclyde in association with the Global
Entrepreneurship Research Association and its annual Global
Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report.

Index Strategically Developed to Study Innovation Acceptance

IIIP Research Committee Chair and Microsoft Director of
Information Work Vision, Dan Rasmus, said, "As economic success shifts
from industrial production to the utilization of knowledge through
innovation, we need new vehicles to understand the willingness of
markets to accept innovation. This study creates a new metric that
will help companies better understand where innovations will be
accepted, and will provide insight to governments that are seeking
improvements in local and regional innovation."

The IIIP Innovation Confidence Index was developed around three
questions incorporated into the annual GEM survey of individual
entrepreneurial activity worldwide. The questions were added in
selected countries representing diverse size and income in Asia, the
Middle East, South East Asia, Europe, North America and South America.
Representative samples of adults between 18 and 64 years old were
asked if, over the next six months, they were likely to buy products
or services new to the market, they were likely to try products or
services that use new technologies for the first time, and whether new
products and services will improve their lives.

Based on the results, the surveyed countries can be ordered on a
spectrum from highly innovation confident nations to "divided nations"
where about half the population appears resistant to new products and
new technology. The Index will be updated annually to track global
market trends around the acceptance of innovation.

The Innovation Confidence Index 2007 Report was initially
distributed as an independent document to the annual GEM report at the
2008 GEM Planning Meeting on Jan. 17-20 at Babson College in Mass.,
U.S.A. It is being released to business and the general public today
and is available at no cost on The Institute for Innovation &
Information Productivity Web site at www.iii-p.org.

About the IIIP

The techniques for measuring performance today, from factory
floors to the delivery of services to the outcomes of innovation,
often fall short because they do not consider the value of new
technology or provide meaningful indicators to determine tradeoffs
among multiple investments. The Institute for Innovation & Information
Productivity was formed in 2006 to break through outmoded,
industrial-age biases and redefine knowledge economy measurements for
individuals, teams, firms and nations. The IIIP develops new
measurements and best practices to better understand the factors
affecting business and organizational performance, studies the impact
of technology, and encourages a global dialogue on improving
operational results. More information about the Institute is available
at www.iii-p.org.

Astra Communications
Linda Marcus, APR, 714-974-6356

Copyright Business Wire 2008