foreword
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“No man is an island”wrote John Donne, the English poet and preacher, nearly 400
years ago. Our experience today as individuals, as business leaders, and as citizens of many nations bears
out the truth of his words. In conjunction with the World Economic Forum, PricewaterhouseCoopers
began research toward this survey report in the weeks following the September 11th attacks on the United
States. We concluded our research as a new government took office in Afghanistan and as a new year,
2002, arrived. In that interval, the 1,161 CEOs from 33 countries who participated in the survey have
confronted circumstances in the world, and often within their own companies, for which there is no
familiar response, no evident finish line beyond which all returns to normal. We are grateful that so many
CEOs stepped away from their immediate concerns to share with us their experiences and outlook.
We want and need to know many things from them. The most urgent issues relate to leadership in a
time of menace and outright war. What are their concerns, their expectations, their strategies and tactics?
However, that is not all. We knew that it would be important to weave together in this survey both the
longer-term concerns of CEOs and their response to crisis. Other issues of real weight include their views
on economic conditions, their approach to corporate social responsibility, the question of information
transparency, and the future of the Internet as a business channel — all matters that have been on the
minds of CEOs for some time.
At the end of our examination, what we found is that, even in these uncertain times, CEOs and their
companies have gone about the business of business. And within that context they have discovered
abundant opportunities — to improve their organisations, their communities, and our world.
We trust that this survey report provides fresh and useful insight. At this moment in time, this is how
we, as business leaders, are thinking, what we are doing.
Samuel A. DiPiazza, Jr.Chief Executive OfficerPricewaterhouseCoopers
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2 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
"CEOs worldwide responded to September 11th with action. In the short
term, nearly half created or revised corporate disaster recovery plans or
imposed travel restrictions, and 43 percent revised downward their financial
forecasts. Looking ahead, nearly 60 percent focus on two probabilities:
continuing stagnation in the global economy and the vulnerability of global
supply chains. PAGE 7
"More than a third of the CEOs foresee a stronger anti-globalisation move-
ment resulting from the terrorist attacks and their aftermath. PAGE 8
"The global economic downturn has precipitated strong action from CEOs,
including workforce reductions and the outsourcing of non-core business
functions — both considered long-term solutions. On the other hand, 74
percent regard cutbacks in research and development as temporary. PAGE 11
"CEOs express deep concerns about the growing gap between rich and poor
countries, the digital divide, the environmental responsibilities of industry,
the social impact of corporate strategies and investments, and the crafting of
a more stable global economic system. PAGE 15
"Corporate social responsibility (“social reputation”) is an important agenda item
for today’s CEOs worldwide. North American CEOs are most confident of their
companies’ social reputations and Asia-Pacific CEOs least confident. PAGE 16
"Nearly 70 percent of CEOs say that corporate social responsibility is “vital”
to profitability. Even in the current economic climate, it will remain
a high priority for 60 percent of CEOs globally. PAGE 19
highlights
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P w C C E O S u r v e y • 3
"One-third of CEOs now say the anti-globalisation movement poses a
genuine threat to doing business in years to come. Still, an overwhelming
number of CEOs view globalisation as a positive force for economic (87
percent) and social (79 percent) change. PAGE 20
"A significant “value gap” exists between what CEOs and investors say is
important in assessing company value. For example, 83 percent of CEOs
focus on workforce quality and retention, but only 51 percent of investors
emphasize this measure. PAGE 23
"More transparency is coming, but the results are hardly universal. Whereas
roughly 80 percent of Asia-Pacific CEOs expect to provide additional finan-
cial and non-financial information, only about one-third of Central and
South American CEOs envision increased transparency. PAGE 25
"CEOs continue to have high expectations of the Internet, with nearly half
seeing it as a part of doing business. But reviews are mixed on the impact of
Internet-based sales: 54 percent of CEOs cite in-line or above-expectation
sales but 46 percent cite below-expectation sales. Among the reasons, say
nearly 70 percent of CEOs: continued concerns about Internet security and
privacy. PAGE 28
"The dot.coms may have opened the business world to new technologies and
new thinking before their spectacular demise, but big, established companies
are aggressively filling the void, say more than 70 percent of CEOs. PAGE 29
What’s Inside
Survey Participation and Methods
G-Impact: The Global Impact of September 11th
G-Economy: The Global Economy
CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility
Value: The Value of the Enterprise
I-Promise: Is the Internet Fulfilling Its Commercial Promise?
The CEO: The CEO in an Integrating World
Featured Interview: Nitin Desai Under-Secretary-GeneralUnited Nations
Featured Interview: Wilfred KiboroGroup CEO The Nation Media Group and Ayo AjayiManaging Director and CEOUAC of Nigeria PLC
4
6
10
14
22
26
30
33
38
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4 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
introduction
The search for knowledge continues. Confronted with
unprecedented challenges, leaders asked questions. They
shared perspectives. They analysed and questioned all the
data before them. This report is their important contribution
to our understanding of these unique times.
SURVEY PARTICIPATION AND METHODS
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P w C C E O S u r v e y • 5
By a wide measure, this has been the most ambitious of five CEO surveys conducted in
recent years by PricewaterhouseCoopers in conjunction with the World Economic Forum.
The total number of participating CEOs was 1,161: 316 from Europe1, 220 from North
America2, 269 from Central and South America3, and 356 from Asia-Pacific, including
173 from Japan4. Thirty-seven percent of the CEOs lead companies with more than 5,000
employees, and 28 percent are responsible for companies with 1,000 to 5,000 employees.
The survey was generally conducted by telephone, with the exceptions of Japan (postal
survey) and China (in-person interviews), beginning on October 1, 2001 and concluding in
early January 2002. The bulk of the U.S. interviewing took place in December and January,
several months after the events of September 11th. The overall effort was co-ordinated by the
PricewaterhouseCoopers International Survey Unit, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with
the assistance of other agencies in several countries.
“WE MUST CREATE CERTAINTY OUT
OF UNCERTAINTY. ”
Australia
“DO NOT PANIC. DO NOTHING
TO ENCOURAGE EXASPERATION.
HAVE A LARGER VISION.”
France
“KEEP THE DIRECTION IN THE STORM.”
Chile1 Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, U.K.
2 Canada, Mexico, U.S.
3 Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
4 Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand
“THERE IS A CHINESE SAYING, ‘BAD
TIMES CAN ALSO BE OPPORTUNITIES
IF WE CAN MAKE THE BEST OF THEM.’”
Hong Kong
IN THE WORDS OF CEOS …
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6 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
It is safe to say that no CEO stood by, inactive, after the terror
attacks of September 11th and the waves of fearful realisations
that followed soon after. The attacks were on the United States,
but much of the world felt vulnerable. Leaders and whole peoples
responded. Business responded.
THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF SEPTEMBER 11TH
g-impact
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P w C C E O S u r v e y • 7
For all of the findings in this report, the survey data can be viewed from three perspectives:
the global data as a whole, by region, and by broad industry grouping (financial services;
technology, information, communications, and entertainment; and consumer and industrial
products and services). Exhibit 1 shows how the world’s CEOs responded to a question
about actions they have taken since the terrorist attacks on the United States. [EXHIBIT 1]
The distribution is striking: nearly half either created or revised corporate disaster recovery
plans, nearly half imposed travel restrictions, and again nearly half revised downward their
financial forecasts. In the global data, staff reductions appear to have been considerably less
important as a tactic, but the regional data show that 33 percent of North American CEOs
laid off workers and 56 percent cut spending. In most of the other categories, the North
American response was more acute. In Asia-Pacific, for example, only 12 percent of the
CEOs reduced staff and 39 percent cut spending.
The key insight offered by the data is that no part of the world acted as if it were remote
from danger. Even in Central and South America, which rarely surfaces in the news as a
target for international terrorism, 35 percent of CEOs increased expenditures on company
and employee security, and 48 percent either took their disaster recovery plans out of the
drawer for critical review or took steps to create such a plan. In Europe, 41 percent
of the CEOs’ companies revised financial forecasts downward, 32 percent cut spending,
and nearly a third increased spending on security. The assertion of U.S. President Bush that
the entire world is at risk finds its confirmation in these data: CEOs worldwide responded
as if they know this to be so.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Increased expenditureson company andemployee security
Created or updatedyour company'sdisaster recovery plans
Revised financialforecasts downward
Cut staff
Cut spending
Imposed travel restrictions
Other
33%
48
43
19
42
48
6
EXHIBIT 1 POST-SEPTEMBER 11TH ACTIONSWhat actions were taken following the terrorist attacks of September 11th?
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Longer-Term Impacts
The first survey question addressed CEOs’ short-term responses to crisis. But what of the
longer-term impacts? Exhibit 2 depicts CEOs’ views on the extended business consequences
of the terrorist attacks. [EXHIBIT 2] Nearly 60 percent focused on two probabilities: continuing
stagnation in the global economy and the vulnerability of global supply chains. The issue of
stagnation was strongest in the minds of Asia-Pacific CEOs (78 percent), not unreasonable
in light of Japan’s unresolved, long-term economic difficulties. The question of supply chain
vulnerability was uppermost in the minds of Central and South American and North
American CEOs (69 percent and 64 percent, respectively), who have been the most direct
witnesses to the social and economic disruptions caused by what we now know to call
“asymmetric acts of war.”
The likelihood of stronger opposition to globalisation may interact with the fact that
nearly half of the CEOs expect reductions in overseas investment and expansion as a result
of the terror attacks and in light of the implications for the peaceful conduct of global
business. More than a third of the CEOs, equally across regions and industries, take the view
that the anti-globalisation movement will gain influence in the aftermath of September 11th.
But how do these two findings relate to each other? CEOs will be understandably more
cautious about overseas activities in a time of war and high uncertainty. However, they
must be anticipating, to some degree, that the anti-globalisation movement will strengthen;
there is no persuasive evidence at present that this is so.
On the contrary, the conscience of the world and of many governments has awakened,
and the issue of corporate social responsibility has never been more acutely drawn (see
pp. 14-21 for survey data on this topic). In this new atmosphere, the anti-globalisation agenda
may well move toward the centre, where it can substantively influence corporate ethics
8 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Other
Continuing stagnation in the global economy
Reduced emphasis on e-commerce due to fears of cybercrime
Reconsideration ofvulnerabilities of global supply chains
Weakening ofAmerican/Europeanbrands in theglobal marketplace
Growing oppositionto globalisation
Reduced emphasis onoverseas investmentand expansion
57%
14
59
17
36
48
4
EXHIBIT 2 SEPTEMBER 11TH: LONG-TERM IMPACTSWhich of the following long-term impacts of the events of September 11th do you anticipate?
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P w C C E O S u r v e y • 9
without asserting that business must somehow undo the remarkably productive global
pattern now emerging. If more than a third of the CEOs foresee a stronger anti-globalisation
movement, it may mean they are anxious in this regard and perceive the need to resolve
this issue soon — before further violent street protests spoil the opportunity to think together
and redefine corporate social responsibility in ways that serve all stakeholders.
To put it simply, for many CEOs, the end of innocence came abruptly and painfully and
left them in uncharted territory. Still, in the post-September 11th world, the message from
global CEOs is clear and unmistakable: stay the course. As one CEO told us, “It is important
that we understand the changing environment and distinguish between what we are afraid
of and what we shouldn’t be afraid of.”“WE HAVE TO ENCOURAGE
PEOPLE TO LOOK BEYOND THE
SHORT TERM AND TO STRIVE TO
BUILD AN ORGANISATION WHICH
WILL GROW AND PROSPER FOR
THE BENEFIT OF ALL OF THE
RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS OVER
THE LONGER TERM.”
Australia
“WE HAVE TO ACCEPT THE IDEA
THAT NOW WE ARE OPERATING
IN A MARKET WITH MORE
ELEMENTS OF RISK.”
Italy
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10 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
Before the events of September 11th, many CEOs were already
cutting back in response to a weakened U.S. economy and its
ripple effect around the world. Caution had become the watch-
word — caution and a keen eye to economic and capital markets
indicators. While waiting for statisticians to formally declare a
recession, most CEOs already knew it had arrived.
THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
g-economy
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Global economic conditions are in part the sum of local conditions and in part a new
phenomenon of interdependence driven by global capital markets, global brands, and
global supply chains. The methods CEOs have enlisted to address the challenges of today’s
economic conditions show surprising consistency across regions and industries. Workforce
reductions and the outsourcing of non-core business functions, respectively at 50 percent
and 46 percent of the CEOs, offered the tools of choice to respond to the global economic
downturn. Among European CEOs, 53 percent referenced workforce reductions. Among
Central and South American CEOs, still more relied on this approach (58 percent). [EXHIBIT 3]
Cost-controlling CEOs in Asia-Pacific were more willing than others to impose pay cuts
in order to see their companies through the rough patch — 23 percent did so, whereas only
15 percent in North America took this approach. Given the predominance of Japanese
CEOs in the Asia-Pacific sample, this finding must reflect something of the acute Japanese
sense of community and willingness to share burdens, shaken but not dissolved by more
than a decade of economic distress.
From an industry perspective, the technology industry cluster tended to do more of every-
thing — more plant and office closures, more lay-offs, more caution about international
expansion plans. This is not really surprising, because the technology industry had sat on
top of legendary amounts of excess capacity in relation to demand. Thirty percent of CEOs
in this industry have curtailed or abandoned such plans.
There are important follow-up questions: are these adjustments strategic or tactical?
Are they structural changes or short-term fixes? In response, the CEOs fanned out across
a wide spectrum of options. For example, 73 percent regard plant and office closures as
permanent, and 74 percent view cutbacks in research and development as temporary.
Perhaps a warning signal: 44 percent of European CEOs — significantly more than in other
P w C C E O S u r v e y • 11
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
24%
18
50
46
17
24
16
16
16
Plant/office closures
Cut back in researchand development
Workforce reductionsor lay-offs
Outsourcing of non-core business functions
Pay cuts
Abandoned orcurtailed internationalexpansion plans
Scaled back Internet-related expenditure
Sought additional capital through stock offering or borrowing
Others
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Temporary fix Long-term adjustment
Plant/office closures
Cut back in researchand development
Workforce reductionsor lay-offs
Outsourcing of non-core business functions
Pay cuts
Abandoned orcurtailed internationalexpansion plans
Scaled back Internet-related expenditure
Sought additional capital through stock offering or borrowing
Others
27% 73
74 26
41 59
19 81
80 20
73 27
68 32
3961
3763
EXHIBIT 3 GLOBAL ECONOMYWhich methods have been used to address the challenges of current global economic conditions?
TEMPORARY FIX OR LONG-TERM RESPONSE?
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regions — view cutbacks in R&D as permanent. Among North American CEOs, only 22
percent see those cutbacks as permanent. If proprietary R&D is the seedbed of a company’s
future, then the European attitude bears another look and perhaps reconsideration
by corporate leadership.
Another significant trend: more than ever, CEOs are adopting outsourcing as a key
corporate strategy. Seventy-six percent of North American CEOs regard their recent
outsourcing decisions as permanent, as do 82 percent of Europeans, 92 percent of Asia-
Pacific CEOs, and 74 percent of Central and South American CEOs. It is not only the
economic downturn that propels this strategic change. A trend for some years now, the rise
of outsourcing reflects a new view of the core company as a branded marketing and R&D
organisation, relying on external alliance partners for manufacture and services.
A footnote to all of this strategic and tactical manoeuvring: whereas Asia-Pacific CEOs
were more willing than any to impose pay cuts, fully 87 percent regard that sacrifice as a
short-term measure that will be reversed once conditions improve.
In some ways, recent events have made the world feel, alternately, like both a bigger and
a smaller place than before. CEOs found themselves connected — perhaps emotionally —
as never before, yet less willing to undertake global ventures. Some turned inward: nearly
one-quarter abandoned or curtailed international expansion plans. The good news is, only
27 percent regard this as a permanent decision. When times get better, the great majority
expect to resume international projects.
What factors influence CEO decisions to invest in one country rather than another?
PricewaterhouseCoopers holds that five variables are among the most important in this
regard: the relative level of corruption in a country, the robustness of its legal system, the
prudence of economic policy at the government level, the clarity and enforcement of
12 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
“I WOULD ADVISE COMPANIES TO
CONSOLIDATE — SPEND LESS, REDUCE
HEADCOUNT. AS THINGS IMPROVE,
YOU CAN REINSTATE THINGS THAT
HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED.”
United States
“MAKE SURE YOUR ORGANISATION
HAS CONFIDENCE, REASSESSING
AND MOVING WITH THE TIMES.”
United Kingdom
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P w C C E O S u r v e y • 13
accounting and reporting rules, and the nature of the regulatory regimen. Greater opacity in
any of these respects is likely to deter foreign investment and create hidden costs of doing
business, while greater transparency invites investment.
Questioned about the relative importance of these variables, the CEOs make clear
distinctions: the existence of corruption, the quality of the judicial and legal system, and
the stability of economic policies all matter to more than half of the CEOs. [EXHIBIT 4] They
are considerably less concerned with accounting standards and regulatory matters, although
one-quarter to one-third of the participating CEOs also look carefully at these factors. The
findings by region and industry are consistent with the global results reflected in Exhibit 4.
How best to summarise the CEOs’ approach to the current global economy, which was
already troubled before the stresses and uncertainties imposed by terrorism? In the short
term, CEOs are working every lever available to them to steady their companies and stay on
course. In the longer term, they expect to retain some of the short-term adjustments they
have made but to resume — no doubt, more cautiously — the expansive, global initiatives
that have become the hallmark of business life in our time.-30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
The existenceof corrupt businesspractices
14
18
26
31
34
Lack of aneffective legal andjudicial system
Unstableeconomic policies
Lack of effectiveaccounting standards
Lack of strongregulatory frameworks
Little or no impact Considerable impact
UNSURE
12
10
10
14
12
NOT RELEVANT
-20% 51
-15 54
-9 53
-27 26
-20 32
EXHIBIT 4 INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENTSWhich issues affect the decision to invest in other countries?
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14 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
The events of September 11th cast a long shadow. Every CEO
and every company were affected in ways — large and small —
heretofore experienced in some regions but never on a global
scale. Every CEO and every company were now clearly citizens
of the world. But how do CEOs understand that role?
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
csr
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When it comes to corporate social responsibility, one size definitely does not fit all. While
corporate social responsibility has become a near universal value, it manifests itself quite
differently from region to region, country to country. In Africa (see the interviews with Wilfred
Kiboro and Ayo Ajayi on p. 38), for example, corporate social responsibility is perceived as a
strong connection between corporate profitability and societal improvements, including
infrastructure, education, and addressing the ravages of AIDS. Elsewhere, corporate social
responsibility may be shorthand for, say, environmental responsibility, ethical economics, or
charitable giving. Few would deny that corporate social responsibility is about “doing the
right thing.” But who defines and determines what is right and what is not?
The worldwide debate about corporate social responsibility has acquired urgency in recent
years within the business community — in international financial institutions (IFIs) such as the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and in non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) such as the World Economic Forum. The growing gap between rich and poor coun-
tries, the digital divide, the environmental responsibilities of industry, the social impact of
corporate strategies and investments, and the crafting of a more stable global economic system
are all matters of urgent concern for leaders of business and major multilateral organisations.
CEOs must dictate and proactively manage the corporate social responsibility agenda in a
world that increasingly asks this of them.
The question of corporate social responsibility has also moved toward the top of the
agenda for an informal confederation of NGOs, which marshal both alternative policy
proposals and a capacity to field street demonstrations and protests. In several instances,
demonstrations timed to coincide with high-level meetings have resulted in civic disorder,
extensive property damage, injury, and death. The intellectual agenda of the so-called
anti-globalisation movement (some within the movement now prefer the term “alternative
globalisation”) is not focused entirely on the conduct of corporations. There is intense
P w C C E O S u r v e y • 15
“THE PROBLEM WITH GLOBALISATION
IS THAT THE POOR PEOPLE GET
POORER. WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT
THAT AND DO SOMETHING.”
Germany
“DEFEND GLOBALISATION AS A SOURCE
OF GROWTH IN THE WORLD.”
Chile
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concern, for example, with the nature and impact of IFI lending policies and with the
regulation of global financial markets. But the issue of corporate social responsibility is
nonetheless a key concern. NGO demands that companies and their leadership do the right
thing will certainly increase in volume in the near term. CEOs bear a responsibility to
their organisations — and all the varied stakeholders — to carefully audit their practices
and proactively address and resolve potentially troublesome issues.
On the global basis visible in Exhibit 5, many CEOs seem to view their companies’ social
reputations as a work in progress. [EXHIBIT 5] While 47 percent are resolutely proud of
their companies in this regard, another 41 percent offer a qualified view —“to some extent.”
By region, North American CEOs are more confident of their companies’ reputations
(64 percent “to a great extent,” 30 percent “to some extent”), while Asia-Pacific CEOs
are least confident (28 percent “to a great extent,” 54 percent “to some extent”). By industry,
the split is consistently equal — in financial services, for example, 46 percent of CEOs are
satisfied, while 43 percent claim only “to some extent.”
But what do the CEOs really mean by corporate social responsibility/social reputation?
What are its actual components? Exhibit 6 reflects and weights what must be the main
components, amongst which an internal concern (a healthy and safe working environment)
and a broad external concern (acting responsibly toward all stakeholders) are clearly the
most important. [EXHIBIT 6] The second tier of concerns includes shareholder value, environ-
mental performance, and support for community projects, while the last tier includes
charitable contributions and external endorsements or stamps of approval.
The regional and industry views of the same data are revealing. North American CEOs are
at the high end of the scale in every category — for example, 93 percent regard responsible
actions toward all stakeholders as a key influence on their companies’ social reputation, and
91 percent cite the importance of supporting community projects. External endorsements
16 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Good environmentalperformance
Charitable contributions
Support forcommunity projects
Creating value for thecompany's shareholders
Provision of a healthy andsafe working environment
Acting responsibly towardsall company stakeholders,regardless of whetherthis is legally required
External endorsement/stamp of approval
71%
54
71
74
86
84
51
EXHIBIT 6 DEFINING SOCIAL REPUTATIONWhat factors influence your company’s social reputation?
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
To a great extent
To some extent
Not really
Not at all
Unsure
47%
41
4
1
7
EXHIBIT 5 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYTo what extent is your company perceived as having a positive social reputation?
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matter to 61 percent of North American CEOs — unsurprising in an environment where
public opinion has focused on corporate social responsibility as a fresh and urgent issue.
For North America, the somewhat secondary importance attributed to creating shareholder
value — at 76 percent — cannot help but call attention to itself. The CEOs recognise that
corporate social reputation has less to do with earnings and more to do with reputation
across a broad array of stakeholders.
In Europe, the foremost issue is provision of a sound working environment (93 percent),
followed at a slight distance by responsibility to all stakeholders (82 percent) and ensuring
shareholder value (67 percent). By a small margin, European CEOs prove to be most
sensitive to external endorsements (62 percent). For Asia-Pacific CEOs, external endorsements
are relatively unimportant (35 percent), reflecting societies in which public opinion is unlikely
to be as consistently focused around issues of corporate reputation as elsewhere in the world.
Central and South American CEOs agree on first things first: a safe and healthy working
environment is their dominant concern (90 percent), followed by responsibility to all stake-
holders (86 percent). Central and South America is the centre of a burgeoning movement to
promote corporate social responsibility. Chiquita Brands, a banana producer with extensive
operations in Central and South America, issues a global corporate social responsibility
report (www.chiquita.com/corpres/decide.asp) that is considered the global gold standard.
The term “stakeholders” has appeared prominently in this exploration of corporate social
responsibility. Who are they? Which stakeholders dominantly influence strategy in the area
of corporate social responsibility? Exhibit 7, where the CEOs’ responses to this question
will be found, indicates the percentage of CEOs identifying one or another stakeholder as
the most influential in this regard. [EXHIBIT 7] Board members and customers, followed after
a slight gap by shareholders, prove to be most influential. Where one might expect greater
influence — for example, NGOs at 1 percent, fellow executives at 11 percent — there are
P w C C E O S u r v e y • 17
Board members
Shareholders
Customers or clients
Suppliers
Employees
Management
Non-GovernmentalOrganisations (NGOs)
Government
Refused
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
22%
20
26
1
13
11
1
4
2
EXHIBIT 7 KEY STAKEHOLDERSWhat stakeholders influence corporate social responsibility strategy?
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relatively few CEOs who listen first to these sources. It is worth remembering that boards
around the world differ considerably in their composition, a difference reflected in the
regional data. In Asia-Pacific, where boards tend to be large and to have an influential core
membership, 33 percent of CEOs from that region identify the board as the primary influ-
ence on corporate social responsibility. In Europe, where boards typically include varied
stakeholders, 22 percent of CEOs listen first to their boards. In North America, where the
character of boards varies from influential activist to inactive bystander, only 12 percent of
the region’s CEOs listen first to the board. Across all regions, including Central and South
America, shareholders and customers come first — a particularly significant finding in
Central and South America, incidentally, since boards in this region have traditionally been
paramount, owing to the fact that many of the companies are family-owned, managed, or
dominated. Remember, too, that while boards may differ in size, composition and influence,
they all have legal responsibilities to uphold.
The issue of corporate social responsibility involves attitudes as much as or more than
metrics. It has to do, in part, with intangibles that ultimately shape policies that influence
the quality of life. A survey question explored attitudes by asking CEOs to grade their level
of agreement or disagreement with fairly provocative statements. You will find the questions
and their responses in Exhibits 8 and 9.
Is corporate social responsibility largely a public relations issue? [EXHIBIT 8] The subtext
of this provocative question is that well-managed “spin” is all that is required, with only
enough substance to justify putting a good face on matters. Fifty-one percent of the CEOs
disagreed vigorously or to some degree with this position. On the other side of the issue,
28 percent found some merit in this view of things (and another 21 percent, quite unusually,
simply didn’t know). By region, 24 percent of Central and South American CEOs and
35 percent of European CEOs agreed or tended to agree that public relations has a great
18 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
-80% -60% -40% -20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Corporate socialresponsibility is largelya public relations issue
Corporate socialresponsibility is vitalto the profitabilityof any company
In the currenteconomic climate,corporate socialresponsibilityactivites will assumea lower priority
Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Strongly agree
-26% -25 20 8
-20
-29 -31 18 7
-5 -9 38 30
21
19
15
UNSURE
EXHIBIT 8 IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
To what extent do you agree or disagree with thefollowing statements?
PWC.CEObro.Int.MECH.NEW 2 PDF 1/30/02 5:22 PM Page 18
deal to do with it. In reviewing these findings, attention may be drawn to the unexpectedly
large group of CEOs who could neither agree nor disagree with this proposition. Would this
indicate that their view of corporate social responsibility is still taking shape?
A further question sheds light on the relative importance of corporate social responsibility.
Is the proper exercise of corporate social responsibility vital to the profitability of any
company? In response to this question, the CEOs grouped into a large majority: 68 percent
strongly or somewhat agree that it is vital to profitability. However, there is again a large
contingent, 19 percent, who simply don’t know. Across regions and industries, the data show
the same tendency toward a strong majority recognising the link with profitability. Perhaps
it is best to read this finding against the prior one: whether corporate social responsibility
is a matter of substance or more a matter of public relations positioning, the company’s
reputation in this regard does affect profitability.
The third and final question reflected in Exhibit 8 asks whether, in the current difficult
economy, corporate social responsibility can be viewed as a lower priority. Sixty percent
of CEOs reply that this isn’t so. They expect it to retain its importance. The industry view
shows 30 percent of CEOs in the technology industry cluster say that it will not have the
same priority. The importance given by the CEOs to the construction of the social reputation
of their companies has much to do with the rising importance of their companies’ brands —
today an important (and intangible) component of companies’ value. We would expect this
connection between social reputation and brand to continue.
Based on numerous factors, the globalising strategy of larger businesses has been stripped
in the past half-decade of its political and social innocence. What once seemed to many
CEOs an obvious verity — that globalisation creates opportunity in developing countries
and is, on the whole, beneficial — has been subject to strident protests, reasoned critique,
and waves of investigative journalism. In this new time of controversy, when ideas and
P w C C E O S u r v e y • 19
“WE BELIEVE THAT CORPORATE
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AFFECTS
CORPORATE PROFITS. THE
CORPORATION NEEDS TO BUILD
A GOOD REPUTATION.”
Thailand
“THE BIGGEST ISSUE TODAY IS TO
ESTABLISH GROWTH — LONG-TERM
GROWTH FOR INVESTORS AND
SHAREHOLDERS … AND, AT THE
SAME TIME, TO ACHIEVE A BALANCE
FOR SOCIAL ISSUES.”
Switzerland
PWC.CEObro.Int.MECH.NEW 2 PDF 1/30/02 5:22 PM Page 19
strategies are being challenged and must be effectively defended, how are CEOs seeing the
situation? Exhibit 9 reflects their views on some of the most important elements of this new
terrain. [EXHIBIT 9]
Moving from theory to practice in the area of globalisation, CEOs were asked whether
the G8 governments should abandon their annual summit so as to avoid the possibility of
street violence. Seventy-five percent of CEOs do not counsel this — the meetings must not
retreat in the face of threats to their peaceful conduct. However, 16 percent of the European
CEOs agree somewhat or fully that G8 meetings should be abandoned, perhaps because the
violence at Genoa occurred in their own neighbourhood and had more impact, through
media reports and other means, than elsewhere.
Is the anti-globalisation movement a genuine threat to doing business in years to come?
Forty-five percent of the CEOs do not think so — but 33 percent do think so. Asia-Pacific
CEOs are more edgy over this issue than others: 44 percent agree somewhat or fully that
trouble lies ahead. Clearly, CEOs as a whole are believers in the social and economic
benefits of globalisation, not only in their own narrow patches of the world but for all
participants who contribute to globalised enterprise. Just under 80 percent agree that
globalisation will be a positive force for social change, and 87 percent say that it will be
a positive force for economic change.
This series of questions concluded with another provocation. The survey asserted, for
argument’s sake, that globalisation will exclude developing countries and increase the gap
between rich and poor nations. Looking at the issue in this light, CEOs as a whole were
more evenly divided: 48 percent say globalisation will have these negative effects, but 32
percent agree somewhat or fully that this will occur. North American CEOs and those in the
technology industry cluster are most optimistic about the inclusiveness of globalisation and
its capacity to lift countries struggling with widespread poverty. Central and South American
20 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
-100% -50% 0% 50% 100%
In light of theviolence at the recentGenoa meeting, theG8 governmentsshould abandon theirannual summit
The anti-globalisationprotest movement is a genuine threat to doing business inthe 21st century
Globalisation will be a positive forcefor social change
Globalisation will be a positive forcefor economic change
The globalisation trendwill exclude developingcountries and lead to an increased gapbetween “have” and “have-not” nations
-55% -20 5 5
-24 -20 22 11
-21 -26 21 12
-3 -6 36 43
-2-2 35 52
Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Strongly agree
EXHIBIT 9 THE FUTURE OF GLOBALISATIONTo what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
PWC.CEObro.Int.MECH.NEW 2 PDF 1/30/02 5:22 PM Page 20
P w C C E O S u r v e y • 21
CEOs are more divided about the potential of globalisation to achieve these benefits (45
percent look to a good future, 41 percent worry that some nations will be excluded and
fall still further behind). What occurs in one’s own backyard clearly matters: just as
the Europeans who witnessed from nearby the violence at Genoa have more doubts about
the good sense of continuing G8 summits, the Central and South Americans who are
struggling with widespread urban poverty and, in some areas, the transformation of marginal
agricultural economies have more doubts about wealth distribution through globalisation.
Inter-regional relationships are similarly important — and they present key challenges and
opportunities for CEOs. For instance, Central and South American countries are sensing a
new scenario in their relationship with the United States, as America shifts its attention to
the Middle East, Central Asia and elsewhere. In the short term, the implications for Central
and South American companies are significant: additional trade restrictions, the disappear-
ance of subsidies, and the emergence of a new, more globalised world environment.
The three questions on the impact of globalisation seem to frame a continuum of possi-
bilities from what could and should occur to what may, in reality, occur. Like every business
strategy, globalisation creates risks as well as opportunities. And today some of those risks
lie outside the realm of strictly business risks in the domain of “civil society,” in which what
businesses do is measured not by financial statements but by the effects on social welfare
and cultural identity. The issue of corporate social responsibility became new again, and
urgent, in the late 20th century. It is certain to remain a key point of reference in business
thinking and strategy in the first decades of the new century. It is up to progressive CEOs
to use their influence to effect socially and fiscally responsible change.
“A BIG ISSUE TODAY IS THE
REDISTRIBUTION OF INCOME/
WEALTH BETWEEN COUNTRIES.
THE PROTECTIONIST POLITICS
OF THE RICH COUNTRIES
ARE FOSTERING A NEGATIVE
OPINION OF GLOBALISATION IN
THE ‘HAVE-NOT’ COUNTRIES.”
Argentina
“I THINK MOST BUSINESS LEADERS
SHOULD RETHINK THEIR STRATEGY
AND CONCENTRATE ON THE LOCAL
MARKET AT THIS MOMENT.”
Indonesia
PWC.CEObro.Int.MECH.NEW 2 PDF 1/30/02 5:22 PM Page 21
22 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
The rise of the Internet, the sheer power of new information
technologies to crunch data, the growth of global capital markets
in which investors large and small are avid participants — all of
those, and more, have focused attention on the value of enterprises
and the types of information that companies issue to report and
promote their value.
THE VALUE OF THE ENTERPRISE
value
PWC.CEObro.Int.MECH.NEW 2 PDF 1/30/02 5:22 PM Page 22
P w C C E O S u r v e y • 23
CEOs are the ultimate insiders where their companies are concerned: in principle, there is
no number, no operating issue, no problem or opportunity hidden from them across their
companies. They assess the value of their companies and chart their courses toward future
value by means of vast information and key relationships. This raises a few critical ques-
tions: Can outsiders reach a comparably well-founded valuation of a company and its
prospects? Does the information disclosed by a company offer a sufficiently comprehensive
and transparent view to permit knowledgeable investment decisions? These questions are
hotter than they sound. The framework for corporate reporting in many countries is under
pressure: regulators want more information and more types of information, and investors are
doing whatever it takes to fill in information gaps. Recent and large-scale business failures,
though few in number, have dramatised the need for greater transparency. Further, the
market valuation of companies, in both good and bad times, is a direct determinant of their
ability to access capital at reasonable cost and to “wheel and deal” freely when opportuni-
ties arise. And market valuation depends ultimately on information.
In Exhibits 10 through 12, you will find the CEOs’ views on key information and valua-
tion issues. Exhibit 10 explores the differences between CEOs’ key indicators as they assess
the value of their own companies and the key indicators they say they believe investors use.
[EXHIBIT 10] Clearly, everyone agrees on the importance of certain measures: earnings, cash
flow. But after duly noting these points, the CEOs seem to feel that investors aren’t paying
enough attention. The CEOs say they believe that nearly every measure is less used by
investors. There is what we might call a “value gap.” For example, 74 percent of CEOs look
at the level and quality of innovation and R&D, but only 57 percent say investors pay
attention to this measure. Similarly, 85 percent of the CEOs examine client acquisition and
retention, but only 66 percent say investors do the same.
Earnings
Innovation and R&D
Brands and reputation
Customer/client base
Customer/clientretention & profitability
Workforce qualityand retention
Cash flow
Market conditions
Sector performance
Corporate strategy
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
94 %
74
82
84
85
83
87
74
69
85
EXHIBIT 10 THE VALUE GAPWhich of the following do you take into account/do investors take into account when assessingcompany value?
Earnings
Innovation and R&D
Brands and reputation
Customer/client base
Customer/clientretention & profitability
Workforce qualityand retention
Cash flow
Market conditions
Sector performance
Corporate strategy
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
90%
5 7
73
60
66
51
81
71
69
78
CEOS
INVESTORS
PWC.CEObro.Int.MECH.NEW 2 PDF 1/30/02 5:22 PM Page 23
What lurks in this finding is the question, cited earlier, about the comprehensiveness and
transparency of information offered to investors. Some indicators most prized by CEOs are
either intangible or have an intangible component. Consider, for example, workforce quality
and retention: 83 percent of CEOs consider it in their evaluation of their companies, while
they say they believe only 51 percent of investors consider it. This dimension of an enter-
prise is in part measurable (employee retention, higher educational degrees attained, etc.)
and in part a matter of judicious opinion. Similarly, in the area of R&D and innovation, one
can count patents and advanced degrees, but one can’t count in quite the same way the
brilliance of a particular team that may be “onto something.” Exhibit 10 reflects CEOs’ dis-
content with investors’ views, but it also points up the fact that CEOs could require their
companies’ reporting units to be more forthcoming with non-financial information.
Exhibit 11 gives a strong CEO vote of confidence to three constituencies: institutional
investors, analysts, and the company’s own employees. [EXHIBIT 11] Sixty-four percent of
CEOs say institutional investors are well-informed about their companies; 69 percent say
that analysts’ views are fully accurate or tend to be so; and 75 percent say employees know
the value of the company. From there, the vote of confidence drops off: for example, only 35
percent of CEOs are fully or reasonably confident that retail investors value the company
accurately. Where rating agencies are concerned — and they are key players in the valuation
process — the CEOs also have doubts. Only 25 percent are fully confident of the judgment
of rating agencies; another 32 percent are somewhat confident. In the data for North
America, retail investors meet with little favour: only 20 percent of CEOs in that region
regard retail investors as making valuations that are fully or somewhat accurate.
24 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
Institutional investors 15
24
15
20
20
15
Retail investors
Employees
Suppliers
Rating agencies
Analysts
UNSURE
1
1
0
1
2
1
REFUSED
6
7
2
6
7
5
NOT RELEVANT
-40% -20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Not at all Not really To some extent To a great extent
-10 -23 25 10
- 4% -10 32 32
-2 -7 44 31
-5 -10 37 21
-4 -10 32 25
-3 -7 39 30
EXHIBIT 11 VALUE JUDGMENTSTo what extent do each of the following understand the value of your company?
Financialinformation
Non-financialinformation
CEOs that feel greatertransparency will helpinvestors understandcompany value
FINANCIAL SERVICES
TECHNOLOGY, INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS & ENTERTAINMENT
CONSUMER & INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS & SERVICES
57%
54
91
59%
59
93
51%
49
91
0% 50% 100% 0% 50% 100%0% 50% 100%
EXHIBIT 12 INCREASING TRANSPARENCYDo you expect your company to become moretransparent in the financial and non-financialinformation it discloses?
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P w C C E O S u r v e y • 25
Responding to the final question in the series on information and value, CEOs looked
at whether they expect to become more transparent in the financial and non-financial
information their companies disclose. Exhibit 12, conveying the findings by industry, shows
that in every instance, majorities responded that they do expect to make more transparent
disclosures in financial information. [EXHIBIT 12] Beyond this, more than 90 percent of CEOs
across industries are convinced that this will help investors to better understand the value
of their companies.
The view by regions is strikingly more mixed: while 81 percent of Asia-Pacific CEOs
expect to offer more transparent financial information (and 80 percent expect to offer more
transparent non-financial information), the same level of enthusiasm is missing in Central
and South America, where the findings are only 32 percent and 33 percent, respectively.
Consistently, however, a strong majority of CEOs in all regions say that more transparency
leads to better investor understanding of the company’s value: they expect their efforts in
this regard to generate a handsome return.
In the end, there is no substitute for information. CEOs, managers, analysts, and
investors — everyone requires sophisticated financial and non-financial information to
assess company value. In the case of retail investors, whom CEOs say lack sufficient
information, there is a clear challenge: to provide investors with all the information they
need — and in a form they can easily digest. The good news is that CEOs are increasingly
taking the lead in the growing movement to provide information on intangible assets and
non-financial drivers that are so critical to a deep understanding of a company’s current
condition and future financial success. It is time to close the value gap.
“THE CORPORATE ENVIRONMENT IS
CHANGING QUITE QUICKLY, AND
GLOBAL COMPETITION WILL BE
INFINITE. A COMPANY HAS TO
MANAGE TO BALANCE THE DIFFERENT
DEMANDS FROM INTERNAL AND
EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS.
THEREFORE, IN ORDER TO GROW
CONSTANTLY, A COMPANY HAS TO
CONCENTRATE ON AND SUPPORT
ITS CORE BUSINESSES.”
South Korea
PWC.CEObro.Int.MECH.NEW 2 PDF 1/30/02 5:22 PM Page 25
26 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
Several years ago, PricewaterhouseCoopers advocated the view
that “e-business is business.” In other words, the Internet would
be so quickly integrated into supply chain management, internal
and external communications, R&D, marketing, sales, and much
else that it would no longer make sense to separate out the “e”
in “e-business.” This view was nearly correct.
IS THE INTERNET FULFILLING ITS COMMERCIAL PROMISE?
i-promise
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P w C C E O S u r v e y • 27
As much as we might like to fully immerse ourselves in the Internet Age, we have not. The
survey findings here are unmistakable and powerful: the Internet as a business tool receives
mixed reviews from the CEOs. For every CEO who thinks highly of the current contributions
of the Internet to business success, another is disappointed or defines e-commerce as a work
in progress, incomplete at this time. Yet the Internet is indisputably the master invention of
our time, and business — like society itself — has everything to gain from it.
Exhibit 13 shows that a strong contingent of CEOs views the Internet as one tool among
many for doing business (47 percent) and as part of a multi-channel strategy for reaching
customers (40 percent). [EXHIBIT 13] It is the primary sales channel for only 4 percent of the
CEOs (however, 7 percent in the technology industry cluster), and 9 percent of the CEOs
regard it as unimportant. The same data by region, in Exhibit 14, indicate that very few Asia-
Pacific CEOs consider the Internet unimportant for their businesses (2 percent on a base of
356 respondents), and a majority of these CEOs (58 percent) regard it as part of the tool kit.
[EXHIBIT 14] Among Central and South American CEOs, although 42 percent have the Internet
in their tool box, another 20 percent consider it unimportant for business — a finding due,
perhaps, to the generally low levels of connectivity available in that region.
It is the regional chart that sheds light. Although the level of Internet commerce is still
greater in North America than elsewhere5, CEOs worldwide and across industries have just
about the same views of the uses and importance of the Internet for business purposes. In
some parts of the world, CEOs are out ahead of the available infrastructure and Internet user
base. This suggests that CEOs and their businesses will be driving forces for the continued
growth of Internet use worldwide.
The primarysales channel
Part of a multi-channel strategy for reaching customers
Part of tool kitfor doing business
Not importantto business
4%
40
47
9
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
EXHIBIT 13 INTERNET USE (all CEOs)Which of the following best describes your company’s use of the Internet?
0% 30 60 0% 30 60 0% 30 60 0% 30 60
NORTH AMERICA EUROPE ASIA-PACIFIC SOUTH AMERICA
4%
51
38
7
6%
40
44
9
4%
36
58
2
3%
35
42
20
The primarysales channel
Part of a multi-channel strategy for reaching customers
Part of tool kitfor doing business
Not importantto business
EXHIBIT 14 INTERNET USE (by region)Which of the following best describes your company’s use of the Internet?
5 According to IDC’s Internet Commerce Market Model, at year-end 2001 there were nearly 500 million Internet users worldwide, with Western Europe(148 million or 29.8 percent) overtaking the U.S. (145 million or 29.2 percent). The U.S. maintains a commanding lead, though, in Internet commerce,with 43.7 percent of the $615.3 billion, compared with 25.7 percent for Western Europe, which overtakes Japan (15.8 percent) for the second position.
PWC.CEObro.Int.MECH.NEW 2 PDF 1/30/02 5:22 PM Page 27
Exhibit 15, inquiring about the robustness of Internet-based sales, is based on slightly less
than half the full survey sample; the other half has no Internet-based sales at this time.
[EXHIBIT 15] This limited sample reinforces the message of Exhibit 14, to the effect that CEOs
in their thinking tend to be out ahead of the actual user base. Exhibit 15 shows that results
from Internet-based sales are, on a worldwide basis, quite mixed. Fifty-four percent of CEOs
report results as expected or above expectation, but another 46 percent are disappointed.
In the data by industry, the level of disappointment is highest in financial services, where 31
percent cite results below expectations — this in an industry that had, and still has, high
expectations of Internet-based sales.
There is a somewhat overlooked but hugely significant brake on Internet-based sales:
unresolved doubts concerning the security and privacy of transactions. Responding to a
question on this aspect of e-commerce, 68 percent of CEOs shared the view that these
concerns are inhibiting progress.
An effect predicted by many analysts was that the Internet link with customers would
generate loyalty via virtual communities. Has loyalty increased measurably? Exhibit 16 has
the answer: while 39 percent of the CEOs report gains in loyalty to their companies’ products
and services, a larger percentage — 57 percent — detect no change. [EXHIBIT 16]
Around half of CEOs in North America (51 percent) and in the technology industry
cluster (57 percent) report that the Internet has strengthened customer loyalty. The consumer
and industrial sector is less impressed: 35 percent of CEOs perceive greater loyalty, but 62
percent see no change.
To some extent, the Internet-driven portions of the global economy are still in convales-
cence from one of the most spectacular collapses in value ever witnessed. The initial
version of how Internet-based commerce would grow was based on the expected commer-
cial success of small, entrepreneurial companies — newly minted IPOs for the most part.
28 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
EXHIBIT 15 INTERNET-BASED SALESAre Internet-based sales tracking in line with, above, or below expectations?
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
39%
4
57
Strengthenedloyalty
Weakenedloyalty
Had no impacton loyalty
Tracking in line with expectations
Tracking aboveexpectations
Tracking belowexpectations
Note: 50% of the overall sample stated that they did not have Internet-based sales
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
40%
14
46
EXHIBIT 16 CUSTOMER LOYALTYHas the Internet had an impact on customer loyalty?
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P w C C E O S u r v e y • 29
Large, established companies were supposed, in this model, to hire the smaller companies to
teach them what to do. But with a few notable exceptions larger companies were expected
to lag behind in expertise, creativity, and Internet-related revenues. This scenario proved
to have inadequate staying power. Hundreds of dot.com start-ups have abruptly vanished
from the scene, untold millions of dollars in speculative investment have been lost, and
only the best-managed dot.com companies are still standing today. Meanwhile, the larger,
established companies that were expected to apprentice with the start-ups have demonstrated
their ability to master the skills of Internet use across a wide range of disciplines, from supply
chain management to marketing and sales. In essence, they have slipped — often without
much fanfare — into the space left by the dot.coms, and there these established companies —
with their financial and other resources — have begun to thrive.
Not surprisingly, then, Exhibit 17 shows a majority say the valuation of companies is once
again based on proven performance rather than growth potential (63 percent). [EXHIBIT 17] A still
larger majority say the ability to realise the promise of e-commerce rests now with established
companies (73 percent). The views by region and industry track closely with these percentages,
although it is worth recording that 82 percent of CEOs in the technology industry cluster say
established companies will succeed where many dot.coms did not.
In some ironic way, perhaps the Internet is making a noticeable impact, after all. We can find
wisdom in the CEOs’ responses to a survey question concerning the impact of chat rooms,
unofficial web sites, “virtual boycotts,” and the like on brand reputation and sales. Exhibit
18 shows that CEOs responsible for consumer product and industrial enterprises are almost
exactly as concerned about the impact of these initiatives as are CEOs in financial services
and the technology industry cluster: approximately 40 percent or more in each case acknowl-
edge either considerable impact or some impact. [EXHIBIT 18] Pardon the unscientific rule of
thumb, but where there are CEO concern and focus, there is almost always opportunity.
Following the end of the dot.com frenzy, companies are now being valued once again on historical performance rather than on potential for growth
With their financial stability, market expertise and infrastructure, established companies will succeed in the e-commerce arena where the dot.coms have failed
17
19
UNSURE
1
1
REFUSED
Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Strongly agree
-100% -50% 0% 50% 100%
-7% -12 36 27
-2-5 41 32
EXHIBIT 17 FUTURE OF THE INTERNETWhat is the impact of the Internet on the global marketplace?
FINANCIAL SERVICES
TECHNOLOGY, INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS & ENTERTAINMENT
CONSUMER & INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS & SERVICES
To a great extent
To some extent
Not really
Not at all
Unsure
0% 50% 100% 0% 50% 100% 0% 50% 100%
6% 6% 6%
37
18
32
7
31
17
36
8
39
18
29
8
EXHIBIT 18 BRAND AND SALES (by industry)What is the impact of chat rooms, unofficial websites, “virtual boycotts,” etc. on brand reputationand sales?
PWC.CEObro.Int.MECH.NEW 2 PDF 1/30/02 5:22 PM Page 29
30 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
There is an elegant and wise conversation toward the middle of the
new film The Lord of the Rings, which has played on screens nearly
worldwide. The young hero tells the aged wizard that he wishes he
lived in simpler times and did not have to face such impossible
challenges. Old Gandalf answers that it is not given us to choose
the times we live in, but it is given us to choose how we live them.
THE CEO IN AN INTEGRATING WORLD
the ceo
PWC.CEObro.Int.MECH.NEW 2 PDF 1/30/02 5:22 PM Page 30
The survey has explored CEO views in a world that is not yet integrated but that is surely
integrating. Global patterns of business, the global reach of the Internet, the global initia-
tives of multilateral organisations, a new awareness of corporate responsibility in the face
of social and environmental needs — these are among the successes. But much more is
needed to confront with confidence a troubled global economy, the threat of mass terror,
the emergence of strident protests that nonetheless have something to teach us, and the
unforgotten reality that the planetary environment is endangered.
In the end, after an exhaustive initiative involving 1,161 CEOs worldwide, we need not
look very far for themes and messages. The opportunities are right before us:
" RECALL THE PAST, LOOK TO THE FUTURE. The world has changed in some fundamental
ways since September 11th. But as one French CEO reminded us, “Life, business will go on.”
Moving organisations forward will require unprecedented leadership by CEOs and their
management teams and increased contributions by employees throughout those organisations.
"EMBRACE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. Companies and their CEOs wield remark-
able power; some large multi-nationals dwarf many nation-states in size, economic impact,
and influence. In our new, more integrated world, companies must put that influence
and power to good, socially-responsible use. A magic wand? Employees are sometimes
P w C C E O S u r v e y • 31
“THINK POSITIVE. WE SHOULD TRUST
THE MARKET AND OURSELVES. WE
ARE CREATING A BETTER WORLD.”
Italy
“IT WILL TAKE FLEETNESS OF MIND AND
FOOT — TO PROACTIVELY THINK AHEAD
AND TAKE THE APPROPRIATE STEPS.”
India
PWC.CEObro.Int.MECH.NEW 2 PDF 1/30/02 5:22 PM Page 31
underutilised by their organisations and their company leadership. Give employees a
noblesse oblige, a noble obligation, and they will dedicate themselves, as knights of
old, to defending corporate truths and values and to fighting the good fight for corporate
social responsibility.
"CLOSE THE VALUE GAP. More sophisticated accounting measures are today available that
can provide all stakeholders with the kind of financial and non-financial information they
need to make wise investment decisions. There is every good reason that companies should
embrace transparency and make broad financial and non-financial information available
and understandable to all stakeholders.
"RIDE THE INTERNET. The Internet is the wave of the present and the future. But consumers’
deep-seated concerns about privacy and security won’t just go away. For the Internet to
achieve its almost unfathomable promise, leaders must fully grasp the implications and
challenges of a networked world. There is much work to do.
In this new reality, the CEO is a highly significant actor. He and she continue to have
their traditional roles as leaders and managers of enterprise, serving shareholders and other
stakeholders, building value, encouraging innovation — and doing so much else. But there
is a new role: call it the CEO as statesman. The scale and promise of business today make
clear that the world’s business leaders now figure among the world’s leaders, in the most
general meaning of the word. This is interesting; this is an unmistakably great challenge.
32 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
“EVEN IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY,
OPPORTUNITIES CAN ABOUND.”
Singapore
“WE NEED TO FACE THE SPEED OF BIG
CHANGES, BE MORE QUICK IN DECISION
MAKING, DEVELOP APPROPRIATE STRATE-
GIES, AND ASSUME RISKS. WE MUST ALSO
ALLOW THE FLOW OF NEW IDEAS FROM
ALL SECTORS IN THE ORGANISATION.”
Mexico
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P w C C E O S u r v e y • 33
F E A T U R E D I N T E R V I E W
Looking at Corporate Social ResponsibilityThrough Experienced EyesINTERVIEW WITH NITIN DESAIUnder-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affa irs , United Nat ions
Nitin Desai has had his present duties at the United Nations since 1992. Before joining
the world organisation, he was Secretary and Chief Economic Adviser in India’s Ministry
of Finance, and also served as Deputy Secretary-General of the 1992 United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), a position to which he was
appointed in June 1990.
After early years in business and academia, Mr. Desai began his government career in
1973 in the National Planning Commission in India. He served for a time as Secretary of
the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. He has been a member
of the Commonwealth Secretariat Expert Group on Climate Change and has published
several articles and papers on development planning, regional economics, industry,
energy, and international economic relations. He received a bachelor’s degree from the
University of Bombay in 1962 and in 1965, earned a master’s degree in economics from
the London School of Economics and Political Science.
PwC: What definition of sustainability or sustainable development do you use in your work?
MR. DESAI: Rather than define sustainable development in terms of an end state, we consider it a
process. Every decision is valued from the point of view of its economic impact, its social impact,
and its environmental impact. So it’s not a question of defining sustainable development as a set
of parameters that have to be fulfilled, but more as a process of decision making. To us, it is not a
matter of having a programme, a project, a policy whose primary goals are economic, and then
asking yourself, “How do I take care of unwelcome social or environmental consequences?” And
it’s not a matter of having environmental policies that are sound but that have unwelcome social
or economic consequences. The real challenge is to find ways to successfully address all three.
PWC.CEObro.Int.MECH.NEW 2 PDF 1/30/02 5:22 PM Page 33
An example I sometimes give is the problem of indoor air pollution. In
some countries, people cook on open wood stoves, and this defeats them
badly. They have to cut the forests down, the stoves are inefficient, and
women who cook on open indoor fires often inhale the equivalent of
two packs of cigarettes a day. Now if I had a programme to address this,
I would want to address simultaneously the environmental problem of
reforestation, the social problem of women’s health, and the economic
problem of meeting the energy needs of a population.
This is integration, and this is what “sustainable” means. Think of it as
a process.
PwC: Can you give a few examples of programmes for which you are
currently responsible that reflect this approach?
MR. DESAI: What we are doing in the area of energy is focused on this
type of integration. For example, we recently completed a major world
energy assessment with the World Energy Council. Were you to look at
the recommendations in that report, you would not describe them as
primarily focused on meeting energy needs, or primarily focused on
meeting the environmental consequences of energy use, or primarily
focused on worrying about equity and access to energy. It asks questions
about all three.
We also do practical work at the country level — for instance, bio-
methanation in China. Basically, what we do there is to create value
from waste generated in mostly urban areas. The waste produced in poor
countries often has high organic content. You can use it to generate
methane gas, which is a source of energy. This programme solves an
environmental problem, which is waste disposal, and it solves a develop-
mental problem, which is energy production.
PwC: In such programmes, do the three strands you’ve spoken of tend
to be split apart by interest groups that you necessarily have to engage
with? Or is it generally possible to develop the three strands together?
MR. DESAI: People will approach from different perspectives. The engi-
neering company that offers bio-methanation technology sees things
primarily from the economic perspective of finding markets for its tech-
nology. The municipality that buys the technology looks at the project in
terms of better waste management. Citizen groups will probably be con-
cerned about the environmental consequences of not treating the waste,
and so on. However, citizen groups may place such high value on safe
waste disposal that they may not take full account of the economic cir-
cumstances. Similarly, the technology company may focus so much on
economics that it may not sufficiently value the environmental benefits.
So people will come at it from different perspectives. But the change
that I see over the past decade is that the corporate community increas-
ingly realises that it needs to pursue not just the bottom line and
shareholder satisfaction. It also has to worry about employees, about the
opinions of clients, about the impact on the societies of which it is a
part. Corporations today cannot command respect even among their own
employees if they do not have a reputation for being environmentally
and socially responsible.
The tunnel-vision approaches of different parties are becoming easier to
reconcile. Now there are differences of emphasis rather than tunnel vision.
PwC: What is driving that change among corporations and
corporate leaders?
MR. DESAI: Corporations realise that their success depends on what hap-
pens in the marketplace — and on much else as well. It depends on the
morale, commitment, and loyalty of the workforce. It depends on the
34 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
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loyalty of the customer base, and it depends on the public reputation you
command. All of this contributes to the long-term success of a corpora-
tion. Corporate leaders recognise this, and they are becoming far more
sensitive to the concerns of these other groups. A large corporation is
simply a microcosm of society. If environmental awareness is growing in
society, if a sense of social responsibility is growing in society, these
things will be reflected in the workforce.
These new norms will also have to be reflected in the corporation’s
thinking processes, and this is actually occurring. A corporation today
would never dream of using prison labour because it knows that this is
completely unacceptable to its own workforce and completely unaccept-
able to society. The same is true of child labour. Corporations recognise
that their policies, their codes cannot be defined simply in terms of
immediate success in the marketplace. Shareholder value is important.
But in the longer run, they also have to worry about the workforce and
the needs of society.
PwC: You must travel widely and speak with chief executives and
government leaders in many parts of the world. Are there regional
differences in the approach of CEOs to corporate social responsibility?
Are Asians different from North Americans? From Europeans? From
South Americans?
MR. DESAI: Certain differences exist. In my experience, Europeans have
greater sensitivity to emission issues, while the focus in Latin America is
on resource impact issues. I would say that social issues — the impact
on the population of industrial pollution, questions about the welfare of
minority groups, etc. — are probably somewhat stronger in Asia.
However, there is a commonality, and one of its most powerful causes is
that corporate managers are part of a community of corporate managers
around the world. The powerful factor here is a sense that “This is how
my peers expect me to behave — this is now the standard of behaviour.”
And that standard is changing.
A decade or more ago, other managers admired the ruthless, entrepre-
neurial pursuer of profit. Today the admired person is the manager who
successfully combines shareholder value with environmental and social
responsibility. The standard of behaviour is set really by the managers
themselves, not by people outside.
PwC: Are you campaigning for these values when you say this, or is this
what you are actually seeing when you meet business leaders?
MR. DESAI: I am not campaigning. This is really how the dynamic works.
It has started. Let me give an example in the environmental area: I would
argue that perhaps a little over a decade ago, corporate managers who
showed a serious interest in reconciling the pursuit of shareholder value
with environmental responsibility were a minority and may even have
been considered somewhat eccentric. Even 10 years ago, those attitudes
still stood out. What I think has happened since the Rio conference is
that a small minority has become a large minority — still a minority, but
a large one. Most corporations today show environmental consciousness
because of the need to meet regulatory standards. I doubt that there is a
major corporation today in any of the large economies that does not
have an environmental department.
But what has happened in the minority of corporations is that instead
of being limited to the environmental department doing audits of waste
and so on, the broader issue has entered the boardroom, and it is being
written into corporate policy. It commands the attention of not only the
environmental and engineering departments but also the marketing
department, the finance department, and certainly the CEO. Why is this
happening? It is happening partly because of the impact of the environ-
mental conference at Rio, and it is happening because many successful
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corporations have espoused these concerns. Our goal at the next confer-
ence, in Johannesburg, is to push it over the top. What a large minority
now accepts as a structure for corporate responsibility and accountability
may soon be accepted as a global norm not through legislation but sim-
ply through peer pressure.
I was traveling in India and visited a medium-size company whose CEO
said that the company had recently become ISO 14000 compliant (as you
may know, this is a demanding international standard for environmental
management). I asked him why, because nothing in Indian legislation
requires compliance with ISO 14000. His answer was very simple: If I
want to be a global player in my business, I have to be there with the other
global players in terms of standards. I also have to be compliant with these
standards because that is what my clients abroad increasingly demand.
So competitive pressure in this case is the key factor — not pressure
from a regulatory body or any official source but simply the wish, and
need, to ensure his standing with clients and business rivals.
PwC: Our survey asked participating CEOs to rate the influence of
various stakeholders on their companies’ strategies for social responsi-
bility. Shareholders, customers, and board members were reported to
be highly influential. However, there was a surprise: NGOs, which one
might have thought to be very influential, prove to be key influencers
among only 1 percent of the surveyed CEOs.
MR. DESAI: This virtually demonstrates what I’m saying: peer pressure
matters enormously. I would say that the NGO impact is probably
more profound on specific decisions rather than on corporate culture
as such — and the big change I’m seeing is in corporate culture. It’s not
difficult to reconcile your survey finding with my own observation that
NGOs are very important and effective when it comes to specific deci-
sions about, say, locating a plant or about technology.
NGOs are proving to be effective, for example, in the area of resource
stewardship. There is a Marine Stewardship Council, an NGO, which
says that if you are willing to subject your company’s methods to exami-
nation, it is ready to certify, where appropriate, that your fishing practices
are sustainable. And companies can derive commercial advantage from
being able to assert that they are approved by the Marine Stewardship
Council. There are similar things in other fields. This is an area where the
NGO world and the corporate world are coming together. I expect this to
evolve — in the area of corporate reporting, among others.
PwC: Another survey question asked CEOs to evaluate their own com-
panies’ reputations for corporate social responsibility. Nearly
half of the CEOs said that their companies “to a great extent” have
good reputations in this regard, and another 40 percent replied
that their companies “to some extent” fit this category. What do you
make of this?
MR. DESAI: CEOs are bound to have a somewhat more rosy perception of
their own companies than the world outside does. You have to discount
this. Their notions of what constitutes social responsibility must also vary.
One CEO might think that if the company is making a profit, it is socially
responsible because many thousands of people work for the company
and benefit from its success. Another CEO might have another view: “Oh
yes, profit is important, but I must also make sure that my corporation is
able to do something concrete for the community whose resources it uses.
I need to put something back into the community.” A third CEO may reason,
“My corporation cannot survive if there is continuous strife in my country,
so I have a certain responsibility to see how I can contribute to the resolu-
tion of that strife.” As you can see, I’m not at all sure that every manager
has the same conception of what it means to be socially responsible.
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What is interesting is that very few are ready to say that they are
not socially responsible. Now the challenge is to make sure that there
is a certain commonality to what people mean by social and environ-
mental responsibility.
That commonality can emerge only over time. And I would suspect
that it will not be the same everywhere in the world. Take, for instance,
what we were saying about the impact of the corporation in situations of
strife. This isn’t relevant to every country, but in some parts of the world
it couldn’t be more relevant, and it might be relevant somewhere else. I
hope that what emerges on a regional basis is a certain shared under-
standing, a shared framework for what constitutes responsible behaviour.
PwC: Can you tell us about a CEO whom you regard as a person
of strong conviction and action in this realm of corporate social
responsibility?
MR. DESAI: There are so many that to name any one would do injustice
to others. But I can say that I’ve encountered three types of motivations
for injecting these issues into the mainstream of corporate policy. The first
is the conviction that being socially and environmentally responsible
does not necessarily mean that you have to sacrifice the bottom line.
Such people believe that win/win solutions are available, particularly on
the environmental side. Quite a few business leaders have come to the
view that their companies can find these solutions when they look suffi-
ciently sensibly and intelligently. For example, when governments
insisted that chemicals should be recycled in paper manufacturing
plants, the initial corporate reaction was that onerous costs were being
forced on manufacturers. But they found in time that it wasn’t such a bad
idea at all, because the recovered chemicals often paid for the extra steps
they had to take. There are other examples of this kind.
So there is a group of business leaders who become environmentally
responsible because they think they have win/win solutions. A second
strand is slightly different: these are people whose horizon is much more
long-term, people who say, “Look, I know that what I’m doing today is
not part of the normal calculation of shareholder value, but I’m pretty
sure it’s going to become part of shareholder value 10 years from now,
and I’d rather do it now.” I once asked a German CEO why his company
was investing in environmental practices that were not at all required —
didn’t this hurt his competitive standing? “No harm done,” he replied,
“because I know that my competitors will have to come to these stan-
dards five years from now, and we’ll be ready with the technologies.”
So that is the second strand: people who are looking five to 10 years
ahead and doing things now to position for the future they anticipate. Both
of the approaches I have so far mentioned can be justified from a standard
business management perspective. But there is a third strand emerging: the
notion that the health of the corporation depends on the health of the
economy and society in which it operates. The reasoning goes roughly as
follows: “If a significant part of the problems of society arises from environ-
mental and social stresses, and if I am ready to sacrifice some profit in
order to be able to address that environmental and social stress, I can
make a great contribution. But the benefit of what I might do accrues to
society at large — including my rivals. Therefore I cannot take these steps
without a broad consensus that the steps are necessary and binding on all.”
To act on this third type of thinking, you need consensus. You cannot
expect one corporation to be totally altruistic, because rivals will exploit its
actions for their own benefit. You need a broad consensus: all players have
to accept that this is their social responsibility.
And this will come in time. CEOs and managers are not a breed apart;
they are part of society.
P w C C E O S u r v e y • 37
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Global Views from the African Continent
INTERVIEW WITH WILFRED KIBORO AND AYO AJAYI
Nowhere are the implications of the global economy and globalisation more dramatic
than in Africa, where companies and their senior leadership are struggling to overcome
economic and infrastructure deficiencies, the pall of AIDS on the continent, and wide-
spread poverty, as well as the dramatic, worldwide impact of the events of September
11th. Yet hope springs eternal, and two of Africa’s most hopeful CEOs are Wilfred
Kiboro and Ayo Ajayi.
Mr. Kiboro is Group Chief Executive Officer of The Nation Media Group, East and
Central Africa’s largest publishing and broadcast media group. He is also chairman of the
Federation of Kenya Employers, the East African Business Council, and the Media Owners
Association. In his eight years at the helm of The Nation Media Group, he has man-
aged to increase its revenue base and profitability in a difficult economic environment.
Mr. Ajayi is Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UAC of Nigeria PLC,
one of the oldest and largest conglomerates in Africa. He joined the firm as a manage-
ment trainee in 1972 and has risen to lead a company employing 7,000 people.
ON REGIONAL ECONOMIC CONDITIONS …
MR. KIBORO: Poor economic management in Kenya, growing corruption, and adverse
weather conditions, coupled with low commodity prices and a huge debt burden for the
region as a whole, have contributed to a bleak economic setting and, for businesses, a market-
place with poor growth prospects. For the region, the effects that those issues have had,
and continue to have, on business confidence are profound. But I refuse to succumb to this
pervasive mood of disenchantment. What we need are unique and innovative solutions.
F E A T U R E D I N T E R V I E W
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P w C C E O S u r v e y • 39
MR. AJAYI: African CEOs are no different from CEOs anywhere else in
the world, but we do have the added pressure and challenge to achieve
so much with so few resources. The business issues that keep us awake at
night are the same as those anywhere — keeping our businesses running
and looking after our stakeholders. However, transplant a good CEO
from Africa to the developed world and he will excel. This kind of diffi-
cult environment is an excellent training ground for success.
ON THE EVENTS OF SEPTEMBER 11TH …
MR. KIBORO: Africa’s economies are inexorably linked to the global
economy. The current global economic slowdown, induced by the
earlier slowdown in the American economy and the terrorist attacks of
September 11th, has drastically affected the growth prospects for the
continent as a whole. Africa relies heavily on the export of primary
products that include not just raw materials and minerals such as oil,
gold, and diamonds, but agricultural products such as coffee, tea, cocoa
and horticultural products. Here at The Nation Media Group, we have
experienced a contraction in newspaper circulation due to the local
and regional economic environment, as well as a drop in advertising
spending because many of the region’s multinational corporations have
cut back following the global slowdown. I expect the same slowdown
for aid, which could mean great difficulties for aid-dependent countries.
MR. AJAYI: September 11th will prove to be a disaster for Africa, because
the effect on the world economy will be reflected in African economies.
As unemployment rises in the West and people become more afraid
to move around the world, developing economies will feel the total
reduction in investment.
ON GLOBALISATION …
MR. KIBORO: I am less than bullish about the phenomenon of globalisa-
tion itself. The basic assumptions underpinning the purported benefits of
globalisation are largely inapplicable to the realities facing most African
nations. For instance, the assumed equal access to global trade opportuni-
ties seems not to apply to African agricultural producers seeking access to
the European or North American markets. What’s more, Africa’s infrastruc-
ture disadvantages, poor domestic market capacities, weak institutions of
education and training, and poor access to information technology have
diminished the continent’s ability to tap potential globalisation benefits.
MR. AJAYI: Our local economies are not sufficiently developed to benefit
from globalisation. African countries are still import dependent and have
ended up as a dumping ground for Western companies, as the continent
cannot offer much to the West with a local content. Also, African
countries cannot benefit from globalisation when the cost of production
is high, because the required basic infrastructure does not exist. The
basics for production, electricity, water, and a distribution infrastructure
have to be provided by companies, as government has been unable to
deliver or maintain these basic services. The multinationals operating in
the region are mere extensions of their home plants — “free trade” and
“competitive advantage” are therefore “jargons” in this region.
ON THE DIGITAL DIVIDE …
MR. KIBORO: Our failure to reap the benefits of globalisation will
inevitably widen the gap between the “have” and “have-nots” of
the world. The inability of African economies to exploit competitive
advantages in the global marketplace can only lead to greater
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40 • P r i c e w a t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s
aid dependency, higher levels of poverty, greater domestic income
disparities, and social pressures. Despite our region’s infrastructural
deficiencies, our successful businesses have utilised IT solutions and
processes in the running of their businesses. Internet use, for instance,
has been increasingly deployed for communications and financial
processing. East Africa has seen rapid growth in the number and types
of electronic financial transactions conducted.
MR. AJAYI: Africa needs help as the gap between the rich and the poor
widens — both within Africa and between the developed and developing
world. However, this help needs to be properly placed. African countries
and representatives from the developed world need to sit down and
look at Africa’s strengths and weaknesses and the strategies for dealing
with them.
ON CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY …
MR. KIBORO: Alongside the changing ways in which the region’s
successful CEOs and companies manage their businesses, the criteria by
which they achieve recognition may be changing. While corporate social
responsibility is still a new concept, it has caught the attention of many
regional corporations. Public perception is increasingly alert to the
possible roles of such corporations as socio-economic structures collapse
under failing public investments, mismanagement, and population pres-
sure. The long-term benefit of participation in initiatives that directly affect
corporations’ own business activities is increasingly obvious. Large retail
chains, for instance, see benefits in improving roads that enable improved
access by consumers. Large companies see the benefit in the preventative
health care of their staff, most notably with the AIDS scourge.
MR. AJAYI: Corporate social responsibility [CSR] is important to African
companies, but there are constraints that make it less of a priority. You
just need to look at the figures to know that companies that are fighting
for survival can put few resources into CSR. Whereas CSR is part of the
culture of developed world companies, African companies cannot just
apportion part of their budgets to CSR. Companies that have tried have
often seen their money end up in people’s pockets. In developed coun-
tries, it is routine for governments to provide the basic needs such as
education, health, and law and order. In Africa these are areas where
companies are likely to use up their CSR budgets, as governments have
failed to provide and maintain these services. In my view, education
must be at the top of the CSR list, including building schools, buying
schoolbooks, and assisting in teacher training. Other CSR priorities
should be health security and the development of the judiciary. In the
end, leadership is the key to a prosperous Africa. Leadership permeates
right through an organisation, a government, a family, a church; but
good leadership is lacking in Africa. In the past 40 years, Nigeria and
many other African countries have had leaders who have not put people
at the centre of their interest. Africa is a wealthy continent, but its
resources have been exploited for personal gain, and billions of dollars
have gotten stacked all over the world instead of being reinvested in the
countries of origin.
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