At first glance, the 2008 World’s Most Innovative companies ranking from BusinessWeek and Boston Consulting Group makes depressing reading for Europhiles. Only 10 European companies made the top 50, and only one—Finnish mobile handset maker Nokia (NOK)—made the top 10. North American companies dominate the list, with Asian companies second and coming on strong.
A closer look, though, reveals Europe has plenty of innovative mojo, even if its big multinationals remain underrepresented in the league tables. In several key segments such as mobile telecommunications and autos, European companies are powerful, even dominant forces for innovation.
The underlying message from the annual ranking is that the Old World has gotten better but still isn’t good enough. Europe has work to do to become as innovative as its wealth and level of education suggests it should be. "China produces more scientists and engineers every year than we have in all of Europe," says John Bessant, a professor of innovation management at Imperial College London. "We’ve got to innovate twice as fast."
