Capgemini Research Institute has just released the findings of an investment survey that suggests businesses are refreshingly positive and engaged about the future.
The poll of 2,000 respondents at director-level and above from firms with US$1 billion-plus annual revenue across nine industries and 15 developed countries found that 56% are optimistic about future growth of their business, up from 42% last year. That is likely to unleash a wave of investment which should bring comfort to governments and policymakers.
What’s more, a majority of them are leaning in a thoughtful and intelligent direction for that growth, with 83% planning to invest into technology and digital tools, and 88% planning to invest in artificial intelligence.
North America is particularly upbeat. Some 65% of Canadian firms are optimistic about the future versus 43% last year, while the share in the US is up to 61% from 45%.
And 71% of businesses worldwide are planning to invest across multiple areas. In particular, 73% plan to invest in customer experience. Also, 52% expect to invest in sustainability, up from 33% last year.
There is another figure which, although not the highest on the list, stands to have the largest macroeconomic impact, particularly in Asia. About 48% of global organisations plan to invest in supply chain changes, up from 43% last year.
“Nearshoring is a strategic goal for us. In view of political pressures and availability of raw materials, at least 75% of the supply chain needs to be nearshored or moved to domestic markets in the long run,” according to the general manager of a European automotive OEM quoted in the survey.
That should be cause for concern for a lot of Asian OEMs and policymakers.
Meanwhile, 25% plan to invest in office space this year, up from just 4% in 2023.
The survey also found that 48% of respondents think that climate change will be the single largest cause of operational disruptions in the coming decade. In Sweden, the share is 59%, in Germany, 55%, and in the US, 54%.
It seems like US businesses, especially the most influential ones, aren’t drinking the culture war anti-environmental, social and governance Kool-Aid.
Furthermore, 61% of businesses worldwide regard lack of sustainable practices and processes as a long-term existential risk for their organisations. And 66% say that relentless pursuit of growth is incompatible with addressing the climate and ecological crisis.
That’s quite a reassessment of priorities. But then, business leaders have hard, pragmatic decisions to make in the face of existential risk. Unlike some politicians, they don’t have the luxury of indulging in populist denialism.
