Yesterday, the World Economic Forum at Davos announced, on its Twitter handle, the world’s most 50 most innovative companies of 2014.  The ranking was based on a study by the Boston Consultancy Group.  The top 10:

• Apple (for the 9^th time in a row)
• Google
• Samsung
• Microsoft
• IBM
• Amazon
• Tesla Motors
• Toyota Motor
• Facebook
• Sony

The problem with rankings of this type is that they are totally dependent on the selection criteria chosen by the researchers.  I saw two other lists for 2014, by Forbes and by Fast Company, and their rankings were radically different to the BCG one. In fact, Apple does not even feature in their top 10!

Forbes

• Salesforce.com
• Alexion Pharmaceuticals
• ARM Holdings
• Unilever Indonesia
• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
• Amazon.com
• BioMarin Pharmaceutical
• VMware
• Aspen Pharmacare Holdings

 
Fast Company

• Google
• Bloomberg
• Xiaomi
• Dropbox
• Netflix
• Airbnb
• Nike
• Zipdial
• org
• Yelp

So there you have it! Three lists by respected organisations but with very little in common.  Take your pick!

Read about the BCG rankings here.

Read about the Forbes rankings here.

Read about the Fast Company rankings here.

Visual courtesy : https://www.flickr.com/photos/poptech/