Why Swedes are master innovators

Why Swedes are master innovators

Mention Sweden and many people may think of the furniture giant Ikea, fashion chain H&M, footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, or Volvo cars. And possibly, Vikings.

But this northern European country is also a hotbed of innovative products and services.

Music streaming service Spotify hails from Sweden and one of the co-founders of Internet communications service Skype is a Swede too. The good old monkey wrench, as well as the three-point seatbelt used in many vehicles today, also originated in Sweden.

In the World Bank's 2012 Knowledge Economy Index, Sweden topped more than 140 economies. Singapore was a modest 23rd.

The index ranks a country's preparedness to compete in an economy which involves creating products and providing services based on knowledge-intensive activities.

Sweden was rated the third most innovative in the world, according to last year's Global Innovation Index published by Insead, an international graduate business school. Singapore ranked seventh out of more than 140 economies.

Being innovative does not mean having a large population. Sweden, like Singapore, has a small population relative to some of its neighbours.

Sweden has about 9.6 million people. France has 66 million, and Germany, 80.6 million, according to World Bank figures for 2013.

"With 0.13 per cent of the world population, we cannot compete on cost.

The only solution for the Swedish economy is to be more innovative and compete with smarter products, services and processes to add value," said Mr Jan Sandred of Vinnova, a Swedish government agency, whose mission involves funding research and innovation projects.

He is programme manager of its innovation management department.

Such investments by the agency and other organisations have given the country a boost when it comes to its innovation ranking.


A common area for students at the YBC public school in Nacka, Sweden. At YBC, teachers guide students in learning, instead of just imparting knowledge, by encouraging them to question and learn outside the classroom.

Different views add value

Sweden invested 3.4 per cent of its gross domestic product on research and development (R&D) in 2012, according to the World Bank. Singapore spent 2.1 per cent on R&D.

Sweden's innovation ranking is linked to its good R&D performance, and in knowledge and technology output, such as patent applications, according to last year's Global Innovation Index report.

But funding is merely a tool, said Mr Sandred. Innovation is not really about the "amount of money you pour in", nor so much about intelligence and education.

"It's about creativity. In Sweden, it's innovation by opportunity, mostly. We try to think differently," he said, adding that finding new unexploited markets is key.

Another factor that gives Sweden an edge, he said, is equality, and the belief that different people have different perspectives, and that can add much value.

Vinnova, for instance, helps companies with cross-border cooperation.

"A diversified group probably makes better decisions than a homogenous group - for example, groups with people that have different (areas of) knowledge, education and experiences; people of different ages, genders and ethnicities," he said.

Educational qualifications are not necessarily the crux for innovation, going by what he said.

But the country's education system helps to nurture inquisitive minds, according to Ms Johanna Gagners, an IT and school development manager at the YBC public high school.

"To pass in Swedish schools, students not only have to know facts but also have to analyse, be critical, be able to compare and make conclusions. It's more than knowing that two plus three is five," she said.

One way to nurture this, as YBC does, is for teachers to guide students in learning - instead of just imparting knowledge - by encouraging them to question and learn outside the classroom.

So students can learn to work on their own and on projects, as well as learn through discussions in seminars to supplement traditional classroom teaching.

Assignment questions can be open-ended, with multiple ways to answer them. For instance, instead of asking students when an event happened, a question could be about what people saw and did during the event, she said.

"But to be able to do that, we have to think that it's okay to fail. Failing is good," said Ms Gagners. "Because if we're not ready to fail, we're not ready to learn."


Ms Angelyn Tan works in a tech start-up, Narrative, in Stockholm, and finds that the culture of tolerance of failure in Sweden allows her to learn a lot at work.

Key to success

This approach to failure also extends to how Vinnova tries to promote innovation in Sweden.

While a company might measure success as having successfully introduced a product into the market or created a proof of concept for it, Vinnova "doesn't measure success in those terms", Mr Sandred said.

Rather, success is based on whether "the company has learnt something from the process".

"If they fail and come back to make a better application (to Vinnova), that's success for us. It's the learning that's key," he added, noting that the agency does not get any returns from its investments in the companies it funds.

In Sweden's private sector, too, it need not be the end when a company stumbles.

Many investors are "quite flexible in redefining business plans" in such situations, said Mr Andreas Namslauer, business development manager of Stockholm Science City, a centre for life sciences research and development.

"Often, the original plan for financing a company doesn't hold. Most of the development will become more expensive than they first thought.

But usually, that's not a problem if you have a good idea to solve it. To investors, the product or service is important, but equally important are the people in the (invested) company," he said.

Singaporean Angelyn Tan, 23, who works in a tech start-up, Narrative, in Stockholm, the Swedish capital, finds that the tolerance of failure - unlike cultures in Asia - allows her to learn a lot at work.

She joined the firm as an intern in 2013 and is now a quality support and community manager with Narrative.

"When you learn that failure is not taboo in Sweden, you'll, of course, dare to try more things. If you don't do things well, the Swedes will tell you 'You can improve next time'. This picks you up personally and you learn much more," said Ms Tan.

"Sweden is innovative because its people are willing to take risks."

kennyc@sph.com.sg


This article was first published on Jan 14, 2015.
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