For the third year running, Apple has been named the most innovative company in the world in Booz & Co's Global Innovation 1000 Study.

The management consulting firm reports that, even without its pioneering chief executive Steve Jobs, 80% of respondents in its 700-company survey picked Apple as top three out of 1000 companies for innovation. Google, which came in second, was listed in the top three by 43% of respondents.

Apple has been a consistent innovator in consumer technology, virtually inventing the market for smartphones and tablet computers. Much of this change was led by Jobs, whose death last year led many to wonder whether Apple could continue innovating without him.

Last week, Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdry said in a research note to clients that innovation at Apple was "sputtering".

"Why is that Apple, the company that brought touch to phones and tablets, stopped just there and did not bring touch to notebooks and iMacs? Why is it that Apple brought high-resolution screens to some MacBooks and not to all devices? High-resolution screens are a commodity today," said Chowdry.

However, Booz & Co's study seems to counter these opinions.

"This year, Apple didn't just top the rankings (as it did the past two years); it increased its lead substantially," says the study.

"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."

Apart from Apple and Google, the report had; 3M in third place, Samsung up to fourth place from seventh in 2011 and Microsoft dropped one place down to sixth.

Facebook, which was tenth in 2011, has now been replaced by Amazon, which appears in the top 10 for the first time.

Barry Jaruzelski, senior partner at Booz & Co said Facebook's fall suggests that social media companies have lost some of their lustre.

"In contrast, Amazon's first-time appearance on the list suggests that both the R&D community and consumers recognize companies as providing superior value when they offer products and services in creative new ways that meet customer needs through technical innovation," said Jaruzelski.