First study on the economic importance of creativity by Bonsai and the Hirschen Group

- Creative companies are demonstrably more successful, according to the new study "Success Factor Creativity". Central question: What do creative companies do differently than others?

- Hirschen Group, Bonsai Research and Wirtschaftsjunioren publish first Germany-wide study on the effect of business creativity on corporate success.

- Creativity in companies is made measurable by means of a creativity index. The most important factors are personnel management, innovation and organizational development, and communication.

Hamburg, October 05, 2022. Today sees the publication of "Success Factor Creativity," the first study in Germany to measure what effect business creativity has on companies in a competitive environment. The study is published by the Hirschen Group and Bonsai Research - supported by Wirtschaftsjunioren Deutschland e.V. (WJD), the largest German association of younger entrepreneurs and partner of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK). 

First results - creativity creates business success

An above-average level of creativity actually makes companies more successful economically. In the case of creative high performers, i.e., companies where a (very) strong correlation between creativity and corporate success was measured, we see that they experiment more, are more open to feedback and think more long-term than the average company in Germany. 75 percent of high performers like to try out new things early on, with the consciously accepted risk that individual measures may also fail. On average, only 46 percent of all companies have the courage to try out innovations. 82 percent of high performers pursue a long-term vision (average company: 57 percent. Three-quarters of the top companies have created a corporate culture that promotes feedback from the bottom up (on average, less than half). 

"Creativity is not a nice-to-have, but essential for the economic success of companies. And more so than ever," emphasizes Jens Krüger, Managing Director of Bonsai Research. "Even though the pandemic has triggered a real digitalization push, many companies are still struggling with the cultural and structural change. The study shows how this can be changed."

The study - and how to measure business creativity

For "Creativity as a Success Factor", 20 in-depth interviews were conducted with top managers from large and medium-sized companies. Among them (some now in new positions): Susan Schramm (CMO McDonald's Germany), Philipp Westermeyer (founder of OMR), Hans-Christian Schwingen (former Chief Brand Officer Deutsche Telekom), Rainer Hillebrandt (member of the Supervisory Board of the Otto Group) and Christoph Vilanek (CEO Freenet AG). This was followed by a representative survey of 500 companies across all sectors and 200 interviews with entrepreneurs from the circle of Wirtschaftsjunioren Deutschland. 

"We are very proud that we were able to win over the most interesting entrepreneurs and top managers from very different industries for the qualitative part of our study. We didn't have to activate their willingness to share their experiences with business creativity - we immediately sensed from all of them that this topic is the focus of their current thoughts and actions as a result of the current upheavals such as Corona and the energy crisis," says Bernd Heusinger, founder of the 900-strong Hirschen Group and author of the book "Kreativiert Euch!  

Based on the results of "Creativity as a Success Factor," five concrete recommendations for action were developed for companies that want to take advantage of this factor.

How companies become more creative and thus more successful 

1. exceed your self-imposed limits

Flexible work organization and continuing education programs are crucial.

2. connects technology with knowledge

Digital communication tools make all the difference.

3. cooperates and benefits

Internal and external collaborations act as a booster for innovation

4. really put your customers in the center of attention

Customer centricity succeeds via social media and customer surveys.

5. do not stew in your own juice

For fresh ideas, their teams need creative impulses from outside.

The study (including detailed recommendations for action) is available as a free ePaper at: www.erfolgsfaktoren-fuer-unternehmen.de.

The Hirschen Group was founded in 2005 and is one of the three largest owner-managed agency groups in Germany. Currently, around 900 employees work at the locations Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart, Munich, Düsseldorf, Dresden, Vienna and Brussels and support more than 300 clients such as OBI, Warsteiner, freenet, Aida Cruises, L'Oréal, McKinsey, Bayer, the General Customs Directorate, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Bank Julius Bär, KfW, the Bertelsmann Foundation and various federal and state ministries with a total billing volume of more than 400 million euros - in matters of communication, digitization and creative transformation.

Bonsai Research was founded in 2004 and is a specialist for test markets, shopper research, analytics and mystery research. With 15 years of experience in the national and pan-European consumer goods and healthcare market, Bonsai has evolved from a media test market into an experimentation platform for marketing innovations with a focus on the retail sector (including food retailers, drugstores, DIY stores, pharmacies, etc.). Bonsai offers experimental market research close to the customer and accompanies innovations from idea and concept development to product launch and beyond. Bonsai is a German subsidiary of the world's largest market research company Kantar.

Contact Hirschen Group

Daniela Ahrens, Corporate Communications

presse@hirschen-group.com

+49 151 46 38 26 64

Contact Bonsai Research
Jens Krüger, Managing Director
jens.krueger@bonsai-research.com
+49 160 8835825