Deloitte Report: Emerging Market Leaders Are More Confident in Their Organization's Outlook Than Leaders in Developed Markets

NEW YORK, April 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Deloitte's Business Trends 2014: The Next Wave of Globalization report, released today, leaders of emerging market organizations are navigating the ongoing rebalancing of global economic power with more confidence than leaders in developed markets. In fact, business leaders in emerging markets are more likely to be very confident about their outlook in both emerging (86 percent) and developed (76 percent) markets compared to leaders in developed countries (63 percent for both). 

"It's no longer 'business as usual.' The traditional advantages of incumbency are showing signs of eroding, as powerful new players disrupt the global business landscape," said Eamonn Kelly, director, Deloitte Consulting LLP and chief marketing officer for Deloitte's strategy and operations practice.

"As the playing field for global competition gets reset, we see leaders from emerging market organizations learning and adapting in order to meet the requirements of the next wave of globalization. They appear agile, are paying more attention to social impact, are apparently more likely to use social technologies, and are more likely to collaborate with innovators at the fringes of their business," added Kelly.

The report reveals that organizations based in emerging economies:

• Appear to lead in the use of social media, especially when operating in emerging markets, where 69 percent deploy social business technologies, compared with 40 percent of their developed economy counterparts. They also appear to use such technologies more frequently for identifying customer needs (66 percent vs. 46 percent).
• Are more likely to anticipate greater collaboration with other businesses—overall, two-thirds of emerging market leaders expect to increase such arrangements, compared with less than one-half of their developed market counterparts.
• Demonstrate a stronger commitment than developed market organizations to addressing social and environmental issues—by roughly 20 percentage points when operating in their home or other emerging markets.

"The rise of new actors and the continued acceleration of new technologies is enabling new forms of collaboration and innovation, everywhere. Yet, the disruption to global business does not end there," continued Kelly. "A rapidly growing, educated global middle class creates extraordinary new opportunities, while also increasing pressure on sustainability. Organizational forms, business models and supply chain configurations around the world are evolving.  Leaders are coming under increasing pressure to adapt, and to work in lock-step with many influencers both inside and outside the organization—and across borders—in order to stay competitive."

"Our Business Trends 2014 report identifies important and disruptive forces," said Mike Canning, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and national managing director for Deloitte's strategy and operations practice.  "The report outlines nine trends that are changing the way global business operate. We are committed to helping leaders understand these trends so they can make confident, smart business choices in an ever-shifting global economy."

The trends fall into three categories each of which describes a fundamental change in the next wave of globalization – New Consumers, New Collaborations and New Leadership:

New Consumers: 
Large numbers of people have risen out of extreme poverty and a billion new consumers will join the global middle class in less than a decade. Mass migration to urban areas means the world is now effectively a "City Planet." These trends place increased pressure on sustainability, food production, water and natural resources, and heighten the need for businesses to address their social impact. This next wave of globalization is forcing organizations to find different ways to reach new consumers, recruit global talent, and connect with people from disparate backgrounds and cultures.

New Collaborations:
The fast-paced change of today's business world puts a premium on innovation—and therefore, as many organizations have discovered—on collaboration capabilities. More leaders today are recognizing the importance of social media beyond their home markets as a tool for effective globalization, as they become "social businesses." Supply chains are evolving into rich, data-intensive networks, potentially able to spot and avert risks.

New Leadership:
Leadership is changing. New, often quite unfamiliar global giants now compete aggressively with developed economy corporations in almost every sector. Individual leadership roles are evolving fast, and entire top executive teams might have to transcend functional boundaries to secure coherence as they transform their far-flung enterprises—without defaulting back to the command and control arrangements of a bygone era.

Access the full report here.

About Deloitte's Strategy & Operations Practice
Deloitte's Strategy & Operations professionals bring deep industry experience, rigorous analytical capabilities, and a pragmatic mindset to our clients' complex business problems. Our strategy capabilities span corporate and business unit strategy, M&A strategy, and sales and marketing. Our operational capabilities reflect the unique issues facing manufacturing organizations, service businesses, and infrastructure operations. These are joined with capabilities in finance, performance management, and business restructuring.

About Business Trends 2014
Business Trends is an annual report from Deloitte's Strategy & Operations practice.  The report is supported by a survey to assess the views of business executives around the world on issues related to the globalization of business. The online survey was completed by 423 executives from November 10 – 28, 2013. The companies participating in the survey represented a broad range of industries and revenue sizes and spanned four continents:  North America, Europe, Asia, and South America. 

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte Consulting LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

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SOURCE Deloitte