LOS ANGELES, March 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The USC Marshall Center for Global Innovation announces a major gift commitment totaling $1 million. The gift, from Don Murray of Resources Global Professionals, will support the ongoing research of the Center, which studies innovation -- the use of new technology to create new products and services -- as the key driver of the welfare of consumers, the success of firms and the wealth of nations.

The Center for Global Innovation is directed by Professor Gerard Tellis, the Neely Chair of American Enterprise and professor of marketing at the Marshall School of Business, who works in collaboration with scholars from Cambridge University, London Business School, Koc University and Imperial College London. This international research consortium is distinguished by the fact that it focuses on market data rather than opinion or survey.

"This generous gift will enable the Center to create and disseminate cutting-edge research on how innovation helps firms compete, grow, and succeed in today's global environment," said Tellis. Research projects will explore how to design innovations from web chatter and whether firms should make or buy innovations. Past research supported by Murray's contributions included uncovering how technologies evolve, and pinpointing elements that drive innovation across nations.

Murray is the Executive Chairman & CEO of Resources Global Professionals, a multinational professional services firm. Over the past four years Don and Carol Murray, also USC parents, have contributed significantly to the Center, with a major gift pledge in December 2009 bringing their total commitment to the Center to $1 million.

"Professor Tellis' research allows us to understand what makes an organization or culture innovative," said Murray, a founding member of the USC Marshall Board of Leaders who also serves on the Center for Global Innovation board. "We look forward to this important work being replicated to drive all types of innovation, whether in science, industry, academia or government. I am enthused to see USC Marshall on the vanguard for innovation -- to help create a global culture where innovation is fostered and supported."

"We are proud of the fact that Marshall is an international leader in the area of innovation," said James G. Ellis, Dean of the Marshall School of Business. "The Center for Global Innovation continues to make a significant impact, starting here with Marshall students and reaching out into the global marketplace. We are extremely grateful to Don and Carol Murray for their encouragement and support in the timely and important work of Professor Tellis and his team."

In addition to exploring how technologies evolve, what drives the takeoff of new products and other questions critical to the success of firms and economies, the Center has also developed a number of tools to help companies innovate and indices of global innovativeness. The tools assess a company's culture of innovation, the payoff to innovation, or the global takeoff of new products. The indices measure the innovativeness of the world's leading countries, companies, and consumers. The Center predicts they will become standard indicators of economic growth and global competitiveness.

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SOURCE University of Southern California

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