On Oct. 3, representatives from five of the most innovative companies in the world came to Fordham to give students a peek into the ways they constantly reinvent themselves.

Part of the second annual American Innovation Conference held at the Lincoln Center campus, the company presentations were followed by an awards ceremony that honored the top social innovators from the American Innovation Index, the only survey in the U.S measuring company social innovativeness based on customers’ experiences. It drew students and faculty from both Fordham and elsewhere.

The survey was launched last year by the Gabelli School of Business, the Norwegian School of Economics, and market research firm Rockbridge Associates. The top five companies in this year’s survey were Apple, Honda, Weber, Toyota, and Amazon; on Thursday, students heard from representatives from Toyota, IKEA (sixth on the list), John Deere (13th), Stanley Black & Decker (17th), and Aflac (18th).

Lerzan Aksoy, Ph.D., a professor of marketing at the Gabelli School of Business, said the rating is meant to provide value to companies, because the ones that are viewed by their customers as socially innovative achieve unique advantages in loyalty and word of mouth that ultimately contribute to long-term marketplace success.

“Because the Social Innovation Index is based on customer perceptions, it has a high level of objectivity and market validity,” she said, adding that when it’s used along with internal-metric evaluations, it can help provide a fuller picture of a company.

The Toyota Way

Brian Kiser, a vehicle product training specialist at Toyota, said his company stays innovative by following the two pillars of “The Toyota Way”: Kaizen, which is Japanese for continuous movement, and respect for people. The firm, which views itself as a mobility company, is particularly proud to be a leader in the production of electric vehicles, and Kiser said it plans to make an electric option available on every one of its cars by 2025.

He also predicted the company’s new Guardian accident avoidance system will help prevent collisions. The system, which will be available next year, detects potentially dangerous situations and “amplifies” human control, to prevent, say, a teenage driver from over-steering while avoiding an obstacle.

“Guardian coordinates the skills and strengths and the machine. The joy of driving is still real though as it’s an inherent and important part of the experience,” he said.

Listening to Customers

Maria Møllerskov Jonzo, a customer experience knowledge and insight leader at IKEA, said that her firm operates from the understanding that 80% of its customers’ satisfaction comes from their experience shopping for an item, while only 20% comes from the actual product. Since city dwellers are the company’s largest growing customer base, IKEA has begun opening outposts within city centers that are much smaller than the nearly 400,000 square foot big box stores it has traditionally occupied.

Most important, she said, is to listen more to customers, understand their experience, follow up, and act on their complaint. As she explained this, Jonzo displayed a screenshot of a complaint from a real customer, with certain sections highlighted to show where the company could learn valuable lessons.

“When we listen to the customer, we can actually know what’s going on, because they will tell us everything,” she said.

182 Years of Innovation

Mark Moran, director of technology and information center at John Deere, framed the 182-year-old agricultural, construction, and forestry machinery company’s mission as a simple one: Feed more people with better food. Two-thirds of its business comes from the agricultural sector, and it’s been able to innovate through a fervent embrace of technological breakthroughs. For instance, its most advanced tractors are capable of using GPS to determine where they are, down to the inch, even though GPS was not originally designed to be that precise. That enables the company to do things like deploy artificial intelligence to differentiate individual weeds from plants, and then spray only the former.

The company has also spent $1.8 million on its “Dollar for Doers” program, which provides funds to charitable groups that employees choose to volunteer for, he said. It all ties into the company’s ethos of “doing things right, and doing right for all of our constituents,” said Moran.

Helping Children with Cancer

Buffy Swinehart, senior manager of social purpose at Aflac, drew oohs and awws forth from the crowd when she showed off the insurance company’s therapeutic robot ducks, 5,700 of which it has sent to hospitals around the country. The ducks are designed to provide comfort and entertainment to children who are undergoing treatment for cancer. Cancer insurance was the first product the company offered, she said, and in the last 24 years, it has committed $136 million to research on pediatric cancer. Aflac and the firm it partnered with spent 18 months interviewing 82 patients about what needs a duck could meet; its unveiling represents a new way of helping a vulnerable population.

Experiment with Purpose

Mark Maybury, chief technology officer at Stanley Black & Decker, offered a personal note of thanks for his company’s award, noting that former Fordham professor Raymond Schroth, S.J., FCRH ’55, married him and his wife 34 years ago. Like John Deere, he noted that his firm has a long history of evolution, and although it still makes iconic brands like Craftsman tools, it has also branched out into areas such as electronic tags that identify newborns and their mothers to ensure they don’t get separated. The secret to innovation, he said, is to observe carefully, listen deeply, think outside the box, and experiment with purpose.

“I think it’s critical to recognize that the Ignatian philosophy of being men and women for others is embedded in the social good that’s a focus of these awards, and it’s particularly humbling to be recognized not only as an innovative company, but also one that’s dedicated to the social good,” he said.

Consumers Rate Auto Manufacturers as the Most Socially Innovative Brands, but Social Innovators Also Include Service Providers like Navy Federal Credit Union, Aflac, and Chick-fil-A

New York, New York, Sept. 4– Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business, along with the Norwegian School of Economics, and market research firm Rockbridge Associates, Inc., announced the top social innovators from the American Innovation Index (Aii), the only survey in the US measuring company social innovativeness based on customers’ experiences. To date, the Aii is the only large scale, scientifically vetted measure of social innovation in the U.S. that is based on customer ratings.  

Auto Companies claim most of the top spots, with Honda, Toyota, Ford and General Motors ranking #1, #2, #4 and #6 respectively out of 174 companies covered in the study. Service companies rounded out the list of top social innovators. The nation’s largest credit union, Navy Federal, ranked #5, insurer Aflac ranked #7, and Chick-fil-A ranked #8.  Customers feel these companies offer products and services that benefit the social good, innovate to benefit society and the environment, and make social innovation a priority. The tech sector is not the most socially innovative, according to this study, but two tech firms made the top 20: #17 Google and #18 Apple.  

The top 20 Social Innovation Index leaders will receive awards at the 2nd annual American Innovation Conference on October 3 at Fordham University, and include:  Honda, Toyota, John Deere, Ford, Navy Federal Credit Union, GM, Aflac, Chick-fil-A, Trader Joe’s, GE, USAA, Stanley Black and Decker, Weber, Ikea, Nissan, Hyundai, Google, Apple, Whirlpool, and LG. 

“Companies that are viewed as socially innovative by their customers achieve unique advantages in loyalty and word of mouth that ultimately contribute to long-term marketplace success,” said Lerzan Aksoy, Ph.D., Professor of Marketing at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business.  “Because the Social Innovation Index is based on customer perceptions, it has a high level of objectivity and market validity that complements approaches that look at internal metrics to evaluate companies.” 

According to Gina Woodall, President of Rockbridge, “Companies not only need to be innovative in the eyes of their customers but should be viewed as socially innovative.  That is the difference between a transformative brand that is viewed as helping society and one that causes more social disruption than good.”  

About the American Innovation Index:

The Aii scores and ranks the customer-perceived innovativeness and social innovativeness of U.S. companies based on their customers’ experiences. The 2nd annual study was conducted in May 2019, and covers 174 firms from 21 industries, such as airlines, hotels, car rental companies, banks, TV and Internet service providers, wireless phone providers, manufacturers, retailers and utilities. The study surveyed 8,863 consumers and covered over 38,000 customer-company relationships. 

For more information about the Aii and a full list of company rankings, visit www.americaninnovationindex.com 

About Fordham University:

Fordham University offers exceptional education distinguished by the Jesuit tradition across nine schools. Fordham awards baccalaureate, graduate, and professional degrees to approximately 15,000 students.  

About the Norwegian School of Economics:

NHH Norwegian School of Economics, one of the leading business schools in Europe, launched the Norwegian Innovation Index in 2016 and partnered with Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business and Rockbridge Associates to replicate the methodology in the US.

About Rockbridge Associates, Inc.:

Rockbridge Associates, Inc. is an outcome-based market research firm that has been advising  Fortune 500s, mid-sized firms and non-profits on their innovation and marketing strategy for over two decades.  www.rockresearch.com

Contact:
Gina Vergel
[email protected]
(646) 579-9957

According to the newly unveiled American Innovation Index, (AII) each company has earned a reputation for being innovative from the ultimate authority: customers.

On Tuesday, Oct. 16, the Gabelli School of Business will host a daylong conference dedicated to exploring how these companies manage to constantly stay ahead of the curve. In addition to a keynote presentation by Malcom Frank, author of What To Do When Machines Do Everything: How to Get Ahead in a World of AI, Algorithms, Bots, and Big Data (Wiley, 2017), the conference will feature a panel discussion with senior executives from Southwest Airlines, Goodyear, Amazon, eBay, and John Deere.

Lerzan Aksoy, Ph.D., associate dean of undergraduate studies and professor of marketing at the Gabelli School, said the index, jointly created by Fordham, the Norwegian School of Economics, and market research firm Rockbridge Associates, is the first large-scale, scientifically vetted survey in the U.S. that measures a company’s innovativeness based on customers’ experiences.

“There are a lot of innovation indices out there. Most of these rely on macroeconomic indicators, or self-reports from managers or experts. But none of these indices gauge innovativeness from the customer’s perspective.  The American Innovation Index is the only national measure of customers’ perceptions of innovation,” said Aksoy, who helped develop the methodology for measuring customers’ responses.

The Top Ten

The survey, which was conducted in May, gathered the input of 7,429 consumers, and resulted in a ranking of 200 companies. The top 10 brands were Apple, Amazon, Ikea, Toyota, Netflix, Honda, John Deere, Southwest Airlines, Airbnb, and Samsung.

Aksoy said one of the biggest surprises was the dearth of technology companies among the high scorers. Apple and Netflix were the only ones to crack the top 10, while Google placed 19th, Facebook was 56th, and Twitter ranked 63rd.

“When we traditionally think about innovation, we think about technology, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about how you innovate in your industry. Maybe you break the boundaries of what your industry is, like Amazon, which is number one in the general merchandise retailer category,” she said.

“Or maybe you’re IKEA, which is innovative in getting affordable solutions that are also great designs into people’s homes. They’re also very environmentally conscious and socially innovative as well. It’s also about how you innovate when it comes to serving your customers and their needs.”

Social Innovation is Key

In addition to an AII rank, the survey also measured the degree to which companies are perceived to innovate in ways that benefit society and the environment. That Social Innovation Index (SII) score was calculated based on how customers answered three questions: How do a brands’ offerings benefit society and the environment, how much of a priority is it to the company, and how routinely does the company unveil innovative solutions to social and environmental problems. Four of the top 10 companies in the AII index were also given high marks for social innovation. John Deere, for instance, took the top spot for SII; Southwest Airlines and Ikea also scored high.

Aksoy said the survey provides a template for anyone in business who wants to be innovative, whether they’re in the C-suite, marketing, or research and development.

“I think it shows that it’s not just this one single department who is responsible for innovation, but it’s the entire organization working together to send that message,” she said.

It reinforces the importance of communication, because while the top-rated companies might be inherently innovative, this survey says they are also perceived that way by customers, she said. Aksoy said the concept of a socially innovative company is also something firms are increasingly embracing.

“It’s not just about giving to a charity; it’s about changing the DNA of your organization and the way that people think about these problems. That’s another very important lesson to be learned from this sort of an index,” she said.

“Finally, I would say it’s helpful for students who are just starting their careers. How do you pick where you’re going to work? What organizations fit who you are and the kind of an impact you want to have in the world? This is a great showcase of some of the best companies in America.”

To register for the conference, visit the American Innovation Index website.