In a study that covered CEOs of the largest companies in the world and in Poland, the percentage of Polish managers confident in the growth of the global economy over the next three years dropped by 24pp from 72% in 2023 to 48%. New technologies are a priority investment area for those surveyed (72% in Poland, 59% globally). At the same time, it is these revolutionary technologies that the Polish respondents indicate as the greatest risk threatening the development of their companies – even 88% of them believe that artificial intelligence will negatively affect the prosperity of their organizations over the next three years – according to the new edition of the “KPMG 2024 CEO Outlook” report.
Economic perspectives – Growing uncertainty among Polish CEOs
As reported by KPMG, managers are increasingly feeling the growing challenges of running large organizations – nearly three-quarters of them admit to feeling greater pressure to ensure the long-term success of their companies. The greatest concerns of world leaders regarding the development of their businesses over the next three years relate to the impact of supply chain disruptions and operational issues. Cybersecurity comes third. The assessment of challenges in Poland looks somewhat different, where respondents most often pointed to new technologies transforming the market, political uncertainty, and cyber threats. These areas partly coincide with the three priority challenges of the modern world according to Polish managers, i.e., growing economic uncertainty, increasing geopolitical complexity, and a race in the implementation of AI/GenAI and other modern technologies.
Consequently, Polish leaders show significantly greater pessimism about the prospects for the development of the global economy than CEOs from the group of 11 key economies in the world (indicated in the report as Core Countries1). Only 48% of surveyed CEOs from Poland express certainty about its development over the next three years, which marks a drop of 24 pp y/y, whereas in the comparable group, the percentage of managers sure of such development changed only by 1 pp for the worse. Interestingly, among Polish CEOs, certainty about the improving condition of the country was very high, with 92% of indications.
CEOs in Poland cautious about AI
The leaders of the largest companies in Poland are increasingly focusing on new technologies – as many as 72% of respondents designated this area as an investment priority, which represents a clear increase compared to previous years. In the case of artificial intelligence, there is a difference between Poland and the 11 key economies. While 64% of global companies consider generative AI as an investment priority, only 48% in Poland agree with this, and 36% of Polish respondents do not see such a role in it. The race to implement AI and other modern technologies is one of the key challenges of modern business according to Polish leaders.
ESG Challenges – Growing Pressure, Limited Resources
Companies in Poland continue to implement ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) practices, but encounter numerous challenges. Only 40% of leaders from Poland believe that their organizations have sufficient resources to meet new reporting requirements, contrasting with the 76% globally. Moreover, only 28% of companies in Poland participating in the KPMG survey aim to achieve climate neutrality by 2030, compared to 52% in key economies.
Return to offices and investment in employees
As many as 84% of the CEOs of the largest companies in Poland and 83% of leaders worldwide plan to fully return to office-based work over the next three years, suggesting a clear trend away from even the hybrid model, which was declared by only 12% of the surveyed largest companies in Poland and 13% globally.
In the context of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI), Polish leaders indicate that changes in senior-level leadership are key to achieving these goals – with 68% of respondents agreeing, while globally a similar opinion is held by 76% of respondents.
1 Core Countries constitute a group of 11 countries: Australia, China, France, Spain, India, Japan, Canada, Germany, United States, United Kingdom and Italy.
Source: https://managerplus.pl/polscy-ceo-ostrozni-wobec-przyszlosci-globalnej-gospodarki-i-wplywu-sztucznej-inteligencji-48750
