A two-year study into the services sector – where 85% of employed Australians now work – shows intangible factors, such as progressive leadership, the employee experience and innovation, may have a far greater impact on an organisation's profitability than old-school number crunching, cost-cutting and capital considerations. As manufacturing dwindles in significance, a shift in focus to intangible attributes presents the new way forward for employers. Now the federal government-funded research project – led by Christina Boedker of the Australian School of Business –  is moving into phase two to develop intervention strategies to find effective ways to improve productivity, a field in which Australia is leading the way.