Around 78 per cent of the CEOs globally indicate they are expecting to be in hiring mode through mid-2018, according to a new KPMG CEO Outlook Study.
The study of 1,278 CEOs revealed, 69 per cent of CEOs in Europe, 66 per cent in Asia Pacific and 52 per cent in the US are more confident than they were last year about growth and the global economy in the next three years.
In assessing their own company’s growth prospects, 70 per cent of European CEOs and 68 per cent of Asia Pacific CEOs indicated they are more confident than a year ago. In the US, where the recovery is well underway, 19 per cent are more confident than a year ago with another 46 per cent expressing the same level of confidence about their prospects for growth.
According to the KPMG study, CEOs are grappling with escalating competitive pressures. In order of importance: 86 per cent are concerned about the loyalty of their customers; 74 per cent are worried about new market entrants; 72 per cent are worried about keeping pace with new technologies; 68 per cent are concerned about their competitors’ ability to take business away from them; and 66 per cent are concerned about the relevance of their product or service in the next three years.
While the results indicate that CEOs are acutely aware of the need to transform their businesses in order to survive and prosper, almost one-third of CEOs say their business is not taking enough risk with their global growth strategy and more than half (56 per cent) said they have not fully implemented a company-wide process for innovation.
Read the whole report here .