For the third year in a row executives polled by Booz & Company (www.booz.com/) named Apple as the "world's most innovative company." "This year, Apple didn’t just top the rankings (as it did the past two years); it increased its lead substantially," according to the global management consulting firm.

The company -- which in August 2012 became the most valuable in history, measured by market capitalization -- was named by almost 80% of respondents as one of the three most innovative companies in the world, up from 70% last year. Google held steady at number two; 43% of respondents included it among the top three, essentially unchanged from last year.

"Although the company’s absolute spending on R&D over the past three years has nearly doubled, to US$2.4 billion, it still spends just 2.2 percent of its sales on its innovation efforts, well below the average of 6.5 percent for the computing and electronics sector," says Booz & Company. "And despite being one of the 2011 industry sales leaders in 2011, with $108 billion in revenue, Apple’s absolute R&D spend ranks only 16th within its industry and 53rd overall within the Global Innovation 1000."