Recycling wins – and Sbanken was the submarine that sank
Based on surveys where a total of 23,000 customers provided their feedback on a wide range of Norwegian companies, the verdict is clear. Tise, with its solution for buying and selling used clothing, is the winner.
Professor at NHH and DIG, Tor Walin Andreassen, presented the findings from the Norwegian Innovation Index for the tenth time on February 12th.
In addition to the reuse app Tise being named Norway's most innovative company for the second time, Sbanken also experienced the sharpest decline in the Norwegian Innovation Index and became "the submarine that sank," or the jewel that disappeared from the banking market, with the largest drop ever recorded in the Norwegian Innovation Index. – And this is the perception among the remaining customers. They obviously feel that the products have become worse, Andreassen explained.
- Great fun to receive such an award
- It is great fun to receive such an award, especially when we know that this is based on what customers say and solid research, said Eirik F. Rime, CEO of Tise, after receiving the physical proof of the award from the head of DIG, Professor Bram Timmermans.
- We do a lot. We make it easier and more fun to buy and sell used clothes. We use a lot of humor and have an inspiring language, he continued.
He then pointed out that Tise has now received the award twice in a row. It's fun, he said, but added that they naturally would have dreamed that everyone else also did better.
General decline
The general feedback from the customers who have provided their responses to the Norwegian Innovation Index is that it appears the companies' innovation capabilities have slightly declined across the board. This applies to all aspects examined through the Norwegian Innovation Index, including the ability for digital innovation and social innovation. Andreassen explains this by noting that consumers are feeling the economic pinch more in 2024 than the previous year. They are tightening their consumption, and in turn, companies are tightening their innovation efforts.
Restructuring and social innovations
In Norway, the companies included in the innovation index face an important structural change in their market in the coming years. - The grocery industry has, over 200 years, developed a very efficient customer experience aimed at families with children. But the segment that is growing in the population is the 65+. What will this mean for the industry, for insurance companies and airlines, asked Andreassen. The innovation needs arising when companies must restructure to serve an older audience are not yet understood, but the 65+ customer group will have both the willingness and ability to pay for many new, innovative services, he postulated. He emphasized that so far, it is not primarily the technology companies that appear to be the most innovative.
The New face of Norwegian innovation index
The 2024 index was the tenth and final one presented by Tor Walin Andreassen, as he will retire in the spring. Professor Kristina Heinonen will now assume responsibility for taking the Norwegian Innovation Index into the future. She is affiliated with the Department of Strategy and Management at NHH and the research centre DIG. She holds a Ph.D. from Hanken School of Economics in Finland and has led the work on the Finnish Innovation Index.
For the next ten years, Heinonen's ambition is that the Norwegian Innovation Index will be a work that not only observes what happens in the business world but also contributes to development. – The Norwegian Innovation Index will create development and change and help strengthen innovation power. We will challenge companies to create better frameworks for innovation, says Kristina Heinonen. She also aims to strengthen collaboration with other academic institutions, including internationally through the network alliance of national innovation indexes.