In today’s competitive business environment, U.S. companies are striving harder than ever before to keep up with their customers’ continuously evolving preferences and demands while simultaneously driving innovation. The American Innovation Index™ (Aii), now in its seventh year of providing important insights into the mindset of the American consumer, scores which companies’ consumers sense they are the most innovative within their sector. Results of the 2024 Aii have just been published, and three multinational industry giants—Apple, Toyota, and Honda—have secured the top spots.
According to the Index, which is based upon research that is conducted and compiled by Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business, Illuminas, and the Norwegian School of Economics, those companies that stand out from their competitors in the minds of consumers do so because of their products and services (including continually introducing new ones, striving for excellence, and offering variety), their ability to adapt to change and their stylish and modern design. The top 10 companies, listed below, consist of a variety of household brands in industries that range from automotive and consumer durables/ equipment industry to general merchandise retailers/etailers to specialty retailers, yet in the minds of consumers, they consistently deliver on the qualities that matter most. The full index goes far beyond these categories, focusing on 16 industries.
“The Aii is the only index that ranks the level of innovation based upon consumer perceptions and interactions with a company, making it unique in that it measures innovation from the customer point of view rather than on expert opinions, which bypass customers’ experiences,” said Barbara M. Porco, PhD, CPA, CFF, Managing Director at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business’ Responsible Business Center (RBC). “In addition to being innovative, companies that are secure, easy to do business with, have a strong web presence, and have the ability to customize their products or services, are those most likely to rank in the top positions.”
“This study captures consumer sentiment in a variety of ways,” noted Charles Colby, Strategic Advisor at Illuminas and study methodologist. “Companies that are seen as innovative by their customers are overall more appealing and garner greater loyalty, ultimately achieving higher success than others.”
Two interesting observations gleaned from the Index include the fact that, while it is often assumed empathy, flexibility, and reward programs are most important to consumers, these factors are not key in determining whether a company is considered innovative. In addition—at this early stage—the use of AI by a company does not seem to be a major factor in the ways in which consumers perceive it as being innovative or not.
The 2024 top 10 most innovative companies include:
Apple
Toyota
Honda
Weber
John Deere
Amazon
Ford
Adobe
Samsung
Victoria’s Secret/Pink
The full list can be found here.
The survey also analyzed a company’s Social Innovation Index (Sii), defined as innovation that benefits society and the environment based upon the experiences of customers.
Consumers also primarily ranked automotive brands high for social innovation, with the top 10 overall brands including:
Toyota
Honda
John Deere
Ford
New York Life Insurance
SoFi
Bridgestone Tire
JetBlue
General Motors
Weber
7th Annual American Innovation Conference
The top 25 Aii leaders of innovation will be honored at the 7th Annual American Innovation Conference, hosted by the Gabelli School of Business on Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus in Manhattan, on November 19, 2024. Executives from these leading brands will share insights into their customer-focused innovations and their impact on successes.
About the American Innovation Index™
Through the combined research efforts of Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business, market research company Illuminas, and the Norwegian School of Economics, the American Innovation Index™ scores and ranks the innovativeness of U.S. companies based upon customers’ experiences. The 7th annual study was conducted in May-June 2024, and covers 136 firms from 16 industries, spanning travel, financial services, technology, communications, retailing and manufacturing. The study surveyed 4,995 consumers and covered 20,047 customer-company relationships. No large-scale, scientifically vetted measure of customer-perceived innovation exists in the United States. The study is part of the Innovation Index Coalition (IIC), which includes parallel studies in 9 countries. For more information about the Aii and a full list of company rankings, visit here.
About Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business
Founded in 1920, the mission of the Fordham University Gabelli School of Business is to inspire and empower positive global change, developing students into compassionate business leaders and supporting faculty members and students in the ongoing generation of new knowledge. The Gabelli School has become a driver of social innovation by equipping graduates to be business leaders who understand and meet the need for sustainability in business and who are able to harness the power of social responsibility for both financial success and societal impact. Through its many graduate and undergraduate degree programs and a diverse range of faculty research initiatives, the Gabelli School of Business works collectively to redesign business as a sustainable force for prosperity. The Gabelli School of Business is home to the Responsible Business Center, a platform for interdisciplinary engagement in ESG and sustainability that fosters cross-industry collaboration and action towards ESG, advances research, and supports business school learnings.
About Illuminas
Illuminas is a strategic market research consultancy that uses proprietary, award-winning methodologies to better understand B2B and consumer markets worldwide. Our deep expertise in dynamic markets like technology, financial services, and hospitality & travel allows us to create research solutions that illuminate the optimal path to success and the most promising business outcomes.
About NHH Norwegian School of Economics
With partnerships with over 200 universities and business schools worldwide, NHH is Norway's premier choice for business education, ranked on the FT list of business education, and ranked among the top 20 in Europe, serving around 3,670 students and employing 473 faculty and staff. NHH is the founding institution of The Innovation Index Coalition (IIC), which is a global collective of academic research partners who are committed to infusing the customer perspective into the discourse surrounding invention and innovation. IIC was founded in 2023 by researchers from The Norwegian School of Economics, and it now includes prominent institutions in 9 countries. The driving force behind this collaboration is the seminal work carried out in the development of the Norwegian Innovation Index (the world’s first customer-based ranking of most innovative firms) at The Norwegian School of Economics in 2016.