Despite the uncertain global economic environment, 65% of executives surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit say they expect to launch major capital projects in the next 12 months.
The top opportunities to attract spending, according to 41% of executives surveyed, will involve diversifying products and services. Another 39% plan to invest in new information technology, and 36% would like to spend on new equipment and facilities. Around 30% of executives are also mulling expansion into new markets or making strategic acquisitions.
The Economist Intelligence Unit report, Winners don’t play dead: Doing more with less in an uncertain future, sponsored by AlixPartners LLP, a global advisory firm, explores how companies are reshaping their business to succeed in the challenging environment that has emerged from the great recession. Where companies are holding back from making major capital investments, it asks what is hindering them and what they are doing to help remove the constraints.
The report, which was based on a survey of 535 senior executives from around the world, highlights other factors that are likely to drive or inhibit business investment over the next year. These include:
· Companies are looking beyond China to the next opportunities. For those businesses interested in emerging markets, China remains the priority, but many are considering smaller Asian countries, Latin America and the Middle East.
· Continued economic distress could prompt further acquisitions. Many companies have taken advantage of the recession to make strategic acquisitions. Sustained economic misfortune may present more such opportunities. Depending on the business, vertical acquisitions may make as much sense as horizontal ones, respondents say.
· Executives outside Europe are most eager to find the ‘next big thing’. Business leaders in Asia-Pacific and North America say they want new products to boost the bottom line and burnish their company’s reputation for innovation. European executives are lagging in product development but make up for it in an eagerness to invest in equipment and facilities.
· 63% of executives expect technology investments to drive innovation in the business. Survey respondents cite cloud computing and data analytics in the survey as having intrinsic value to growth. In turn, executives say using new channels, such as social media, can make a company more relevant to new generations of customers, investors and employees.
Winners don’t play dead: Doing more with less in an uncertain future
is available free of charge at
http://www.managementthinking.eiu.com/winners-dont-play-dead.html
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Notes for editors
About the survey
In September 2011, the Economist Intelligence Unit conducted a global survey of 535 senior executives from a range of industries. Survey respondents are quite senior with 49% representing C-suite or above. They are distributed globally, with 33% of them based in North America, 27% in Western Europe, 17% in the Asia-Pacific region and the balance from the rest of the world. Respondents come from firms of all sizes: 46% represent companies with annual revenue of US$500m or less and 19% of the responses came from companies with annual revenue of US$10bn or more. Many of the organisations in the survey are multinational. Of the 83% of respondents that say they do not have a head office in the Asia-Pacific region, around 60% have “significant operations” in that region.
About the Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the world's leading resource for economic and business research, forecasting and analysis. It provides accurate and impartial intelligence for companies, government agencies, financial institutions and academic organisations around the globe, inspiring business leaders to act with confidence since 1946. EIU products include its flagship Country Reports service, providing political and economic analysis for 195 countries, and a portfolio of subscription-based data and forecasting services. The company also undertakes bespoke research and analysis projects on individual markets and business sectors. More information is available at www.eiu.com or follow us on www.twitter.com/theeiu
The EIU is headquartered in London, UK, with offices in more than 40 cities and a network of some 650 country experts and analysts worldwide. It operates independently as the business-to-business arm of The Economist Group, the leading source of analysis on international business and world affairs.
About AlixPartners
AlixPartners LLP is a global business-advisory firm offering comprehensive services in four major areas: enterprise improvement, turnaround and restructuring, financial-advisory services and information-management services. Founded in 1981, the firm has more than 900 professionals in offices around the world, and can be found on the Web at www.alixpartners.com.
