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EMERGING MARKETS POSE CHALLENGES
rESPONDENTS rank the opportunities for growth in emerging markets as lower than those offered by clean technology .
There are probably three reasons for this sense of caution :
1 . Despite their vast long-term potential , many rapid-growth markets also possess challenging business environments .
2 . While emerging markets are growing much more quickly than developed economies , their rates of growth have slowed over the past 12 months .
3 . Companies entering these markets must also contend with increasingly stiff competition from both local and overseas players . Productivity gains driven by investments Among the respondents , 55 % think that the opportunities to invest in processes , tools and training , to achieve greater productivity , have increased . One reason for this could be that , when faced with a highly challenging environment , companies have the impetus they need to make far-reaching changes .
Nothing will galvanize attempts to tackle legacy processes or poor working practices more than the threat of declining market share or even insolvency .
Execution of strategy is more difficult
Making strategic choices has rarely been more difficult than it is today . Companies must contend with divergent economic environments , uncertainty in financial markets and increasing levels of competition .
Yet , even if business leaders make the right strategic choices , problems can still occur . Indeed , many management thinkers would argue that the execution of strategy is more challenging than determining strategic choices in the first place . Sharpening execution will be crucial to success at a time when the business environment is so uncertain . Among the respondents , 55 % think the opportunities to improve execution of strategy across business functions have increased as a result of economic turbulence .