interviewed for this study—namely as one of three things: innovation, productivity, and satisfaction. But unlike our interview data, our survey data of more than 4,000 full-time employees indicates fundamental differences exist regarding each of the three categories across the globe. Specifically, employees in emerging-market economies, more so than those in developed economies, see consumer IT as a tool that can drive innovation, increase personal productivity, and help companies attract and retain talent. (Note: The survey sample was drawn equally across industry and age groups, with approximately 250 employees from each of the 16 countries. All survey participants worked at companies with more than 100 employees. For demographics, refer to the appendix available online).

Driving innovation. Consumer tech-
nology’s potential to drive innovation
in the workplace is reflected in the va-
riety of ways employees use such IT to
approach, tackle, and solve problems.
Employees in countries such as Bra-
zil, China, India, and Mexico are more
than twice as likely as those in mature
markets to use or download consumer
applications from the Internet to solve
a work problem, according to our study
(see Table 2). They are also more in-
clined to create their own tech-based
solutions or use their personal social
contacts (gained through social media
technology) to solve a problem. Instead
of relying on established processes, for
example, employees in emerging mar-
kets have the unique potential to create
their own practices from scratch, with
the help of consumer IT—and they
happily do so.

table 2. viewing consumer it as an innovation booster.

Percentage of employees that agree or strongly agree with each statement
“i often spend time
looking for suitable
applications that make
me better at work”
“i often use or down-
load applications from
the internet to solve
a problem at work”
“i often create technolo-
gy-based solutions
that help me solve
a business problem”
“i often use my
personal social network
to find solutions to
work problems”
“if i were allowed to
choose my own hard-
ware and software
for work, i think i would
be more innovative”

Australia 15% 17% 16% 8% 38%
Brazil 36% 40% 38% 26% 64%
Canada 17% 18% 18% 13% 42%
China 63% 60% 54% 38% 78%
France 8% 9% 14% 5% 33%
germany 9% 10% 10% 7% 22%
india 55% 49% 47% 34% 70%
italy 26% 30% 30% 21% 57%
Japan 13% 26% 9% 7% 40%
Mexico 48% 50% 48% 20% 76%
scandinavia 10% 11% 9% 7% 31%
singapore 34% 23% 26% 16% 64%
south Korea 24% 29% 18% 23% 57%
spain 25% 22% 20% 12% 50%
United Kingdom 11% 15% 15% 7% 45%
United states 15% 15% 20% 12% 41%
sample Average 26% 26% 24% 16% 50%
note: Bold typeface marks top three for each category
MAy 2013 | VOl. 56 | nO. 5 | CommuNiCatioNS of the aCm 87