An editorial from the Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Is West Virginia a place to innovate? Can people in the Mountain State with great ideas for new products and services thrive in our state’s legal and cultural climate?
Are entrepreneurs — people who work to create their own jobs instead of trying to find an existing job — encouraged in this state to develop and profit from their ideas?
Evidently not, according to a Harvard Business Review article by Anne Marie Knott.
West Virginia is one of five states that doesn’t score on a research quotient measure in Knott’s Innovation Friendly ranking.
The best states for innovation, according to Knott’s measures, are California and Minnesota. The Golden State has 235 firms the conduct research & development. Minnesota has 38 public firms conducting R&D. West Virginia, according to the report, has no public firms doing R&D.
It’s not for lack of trying lately, but establishing an innovation culture takes time and continuous effort…
