Every month, we collect the latest rankings of innovation and entrepeneurship. See archive

Forbes: Top 20 Franchises For The Buck

Not getting paid what you’re worth (or not getting paid at all) and want to start your own gig? For those who don’t have the patience, capital or guts to generate sales from scratch, franchising can make a lot of sense—though not all brands deliver the same return on investment. with the help of Robert Bond, chief executive of the World Franchising Network(a franchise database) and publisher of Bond’s Franchise Guide, we waded through data on 110 of the most established names to find 20 that competent operators should consider.

AZ Magazine: Top 25 Best Workplaces for Women

There are literally hundreds of companies in the valley, many are award-winning and deserving of recognition. In fact, in selecting the Top 25 workplaces for women, the judging committee considered more than 70 applications.

ft.com: Entrepreneur of the Year

The winner will have demonstrated continued leadership of the business. The essential entrepreneurial spirit that enabled the group to succeed in its early days will have been retained, but a management structure that can cope with the demands of running a public company will have been introduced.

The Sunday Times: 100 Best Small Companies to Work For 2012

Welcome to the ninth Sunday Times list of the Best Small Companies to Work For. This year’s competition saw 524 small firms register to take part and captured the views of 27,000 employees. This makes it by far the most comprehensive survey of its kind in the country.

Business Leader: Top Entrepreneurs 2012

Each year, Business Leader recognizes the top entrepreneurs of the South through our Top 50 Entrepreneurs Awards. Winners will be entrepreneurs that have created innovative, high achieving companies that contribute to their industries and business communities.

fastcompany.com: The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies

Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google are transformational firms, obsessions of the business world and deservedly so. But if you had to pick, which one would you say is the most innovative–literally, the most innovative company in the world? (And then who’s No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4?) The four we chose were featured on our cover last November (“The Great Tech Wars”). Since then, they have jostled for the No. 1 title–with Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet, Apple’s Siri voice assistant, Facebook’s Timeline interface, and Google’s reinvention of YouTube as a niche-programming powerhouse. Yet each company has fallen victim to hubris, causing public-relations firestorms and some sloppy products.

technologyreview.com: TR50: The Top 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2012

What is a TR50 company? It is a business whose innovations force other businesses to alter their strategic course. TR50 members are nominated by Technology Review’s editors, who look for companies that over the last year have demonstrated original and valuable technology, are bringing that technology to market at a significant scale, and are clearly influencing their competitors.

global100.org: The Global 100: World Leaders in Clean Capitalism

The Global 100 is the most extensive data-driven corporate sustainability assessment in existence, and inclusion is limited to a select group of the top 100 large-cap companies in the world. Launched in 2005, the annual Global 100 is announced each year during the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Franchising World: Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner

As a former athlete and coach for the University of Michigan football team, John Rotche, CFE, began his career in franchising at Domino’s Pizza, two miles from the Michigan Football Stadium. Rotche spent many years in a leadership position under the founder, Tom Monaghan. Soon after Domino’s Pizza was sold, Rotche joined Krispy Kreme Doughnuts where he helped expand the brand throughout the Midwest. After the diagnosis of a severe respiratory illness to Rotche’s infant son, his independent spirit and entrepreneurial vision led him to leave Krispy Kreme to start DUCTZ, a single van air duct cleaning business from his daughter’s bedroom.

CD Computing News: LG Electronics Wins Multiple Awards at the 2012 CES

The article announces the awards won by LG Electronics (LG) at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), including the best high-definition television (HDTV) at CES by CNET, Popular Mechanics Editor’s Choice, and IMS Research TV Innovations Immersive Award.

African Business: Ghanaian & Ethiopian prizewinners

Kwaku Kyei, a Ghanaian social entrepreneur, has won the 2011 UNEP SEED Initiative Award. The annual international SEED Awards recognise inspiring social and environmental entrepreneurs, whose grassroots businesses