For the Product Portfolio Management Benchmark Report: Achieving Maximum Product Value, we recently surveyed over 150 leading companies, asking them to to complete an online survey that included questions designed to help AberdeenGroup determine the following:.

A light bulb overhead may signal a bright idea in cartoons and comic books, but in today's business world companies can't sit around waiting for creative bolts of inspiration. Long-lasting success requires a process of innovation that is predictable and consistent. But here's the challenge: How can that message be conveyed to top-tier executives? What must be done to persuade middle managers to embrace innovation? What's the fastest route to the "innovation buy-in?"

With the demand for innovation on the rise, and the ability to feed that hungry tiger becoming a greater and greater challenge, what can companies do to increase their odds of becoming more successful innovators? Some suggest that the best place to start is where the ideas for new products and services often originate — the R&D organization.