At Google, engineers are encouraged to spend a good portion of their time coming up with ideas. At Apple Computer, the focus is on catering to the customer with industrial design. SanDisk has found a way to make falling prices a competitive advantage. All three are examples of companies that spend less than their peers on research and development but get more in return.

According to the study, the companies that got the most bang for their R&D buck shared a series of traits: They had processes for generating and tracking ideas, systems for selecting which projects to fund, and mechanisms to take projects through product development to successful commercialization. ... Varian Medical Chief Executive Officer Timothy Guertin said the secret to R&D success is that familiar bromide -- listen to the customer. "What you're looking for are new capabilities that really delight your customers and compel them to buy your product," he said.