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The Center for Global Innovation is anchored in the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. In addition to the school’s own scholars, it draws on research talent from around the globe. It includes scholars from Cambridge University, the London Business School, Koc University, and Imperial College London.

What we study

Innovation -- the use of new technology to create new products and services -- is crucial to the growth of firms and economies for several reasons.

• It creates entirely new markets and improves the quality of products while reducing prices. Thus, innovation simultaneously drives economic growth while improving consumer welfare.
• Firms at the leading edge of innovation tend to dominate world markets and promote the international competitiveness of their home economies.
• Innovation drives creation of rent-generating patents that help corporations and entire countries. It is no surprise, therefore, that governments throughout the world have realized the importance of innovation.

Find Answers to Pressing Questions in Innovation

The USC Marshall Center for Global Innovation conducts cutting edge research in innovation. Find early answers to these important questions.

• Do Innovations Payoff?
• How do technologies evolve?
• What are the Key Drivers of Innovation in Firms?
• Where Do (Should) Firms Locate their R&D Centers?
• How Does One Build a Culture of Relentless Innovation?
• Which Firms Are the Most Innovative?
• Which Nations are the Quickest to Adopt New Products?
• What drives the takeoff of new products?

Creating indices of global innovation

The Center has developed three annual indices of global innovativeness:

• (1) Global Firm Innovative Index,
• (2) Global Consumer Innovativeness Index and
• (3)  Worldwide location of R&D centers.

These indices measure up to 30 of the world’s leading economies, sampling approximately 100 of their largest companies and 400 consumers of the companies’ goods and services. By making cross-national and cross-cultural comparisons, CGI researchers explore what factors lead to innovativeness. And, by tracking innovation over time, the indices indicate how changing environments and policies hurt or help innovativeness. Because these indices show how firms, consumers and countries can become more innovative, competitive and powerful, we anticipate that they will become the world standard indicators of economic growth and global competitiveness.