Leading Companies’ Innovation Strategies. Perspectives to 2030 and as far as 2050

While the pandemic has flared up again in late 2021, causing renewed difficulties for many companies faced with new constraints (transport, working conditions, absenteeism etc.), standing back a little from short-term management and examining the focus of companies’ longer-term strategies can bring a breath of fresh air. This is what Marc Giget proposes here. Drawing on various international studies, he outlines the main preoccupations and strategic aims of the world-leading companies in innovation, not only today but also looking further into the future — to 2030 or even 2050. Though their technical and financial aims have not disappeared (investment in R&D, scientific and technical cooperation etc.), it is noticeable that more social and environmental concerns are making themselves felt in the long term: upgrading employees, passing on knowledge, harmonious relations with society etc. Marc Giget also stresses the desire for a long-range rather than a merely short-term strategic vision, for handing on the company’s values and knowledge to younger generations, and the emphasis on relations of trust with clients and suppliers. Lastly, he presents the new orientations and 10 key future lines of development that emerge from the innovation strategies of Europe’s leading companies, in which achieving carbon neutrality and the UN’s sustainable development objectives have an increasingly prominent place.