Accenture’s research has found that although businesses are increasing their innovation Investments (spends), return on investment has declined 27% over the past five years

Almost one-third (29%) of those Accenture surveyed expect to increase their innovation investments by more than 50% over the next five years.

According to new research from Accenture, the professional services firm, more than half (57%) of businesses making significant investments in innovation have underperformed against industry peers when it comes to growth or market value.

At the same time, almost one-third (29%) of those Accenture surveyed expect to increase their investments in innovation by more than 50% over the next five years.

“The fact that return on investment overall is dropping is a worrying trend. Business are spending more than ever, but their inability to see proper returns is shocking,” said Toluleke Adenmosun, MD Financial Services at Accenture.

“One of the reasons for this could be that many organisations still see innovation as a peripheral activity separate to the core business; an “ad-hoc creative process” rather than a set of practices that will fundamentally change their way of doing business. It’s like going jogging once a month and then expecting to be able to run a marathon.

“Over the last five years, roughly $3.2tn was spent on innovation investments worldwide. Yet, the study shows it is not how much you spend that matters, it is how you spend it. The companies bucking the trend and seeing the biggest returns are investing in bold, watershed moves rather than incremental shifts.”

“The companies reaping the biggest rewards show a “go big or go home” mentality by investing in truly disruptive innovation projects,” added Toluleke “They don’t just tinker around the edges.”

Toluleke also argued that some companies just chase the latest tech trends without thinking about how to connect what they’re spending to the biggest problems or opportunities in their business.

The research also reveals that there are seven key characteristics that are adopted by companies deliberately driving innovation.