A new study from leading global communications consultancy Weber Shandwick finds tension between leading executives鈥 rosy views on the economy and growth prospects, and their concerns over market volatility.
54 percent of executives described the 2025 business climate as 鈥済rowing,鈥 and 51 percent said it was 鈥減rosperous鈥. 78 percent characterised themselves as 鈥渙ptimistic鈥 on their business prospects for 2025, with 8 in 10 reporting expectations of moderate to high growth. And 83 percent said the results of the U.S. election factored at least "somewhat" into their optimism rating.
Still, over two-thirds pointed to market volatility as a leading concern. Less than a quarter say that they are 鈥渧ery prepared鈥 to navigate potential market disruptions, including revised tax laws (25 percent), employee activism (23 percent), mis-and disinformation (22 percent), public criticism from elected officials (16 percent), and global armed conflicts (10 percent).
Just 17 percent of executives felt that their communications and public affairs functions were well-equipped to navigate the current environment. Larger companies with 50,000 or more employees and those operating in 20+ countries reported greater decreases in confidence than others.
鈥淭he tension executives feel as we enter the new year is unsurprising, given the state of markets and the current political climate,鈥 said Pam Jenkins, global chief public affairs officer at Weber Shandwick. 鈥淲hile current stock market performance is cause for significant optimism from many executives, the potential for uncontrolled disruptions 鈥 whether from tariffs, employee activism, geopolitical instability or political critique 鈥 is also significant.鈥
鈥淚n an increasingly volatile world, the data shows that CEOs expect more from their communications and public affairs teams to help manage risk and deliver value,鈥 said Will Crain, head of North America CEO communications advisory for Weber Shandwick. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 bolstering geopolitical capabilities, upskilling talent or increasing the rate of technology adoption to be more agile and informed, communications and public affairs leaders must take tangible steps to modernize their functions and meet the moment.鈥
The survey also took a pulse on executive priorities against the backdrop of the five-year anniversary of the Business Roundtable鈥檚 Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation. While nearly all executives (99 percent) consider the interests of multiple stakeholders to be important, most continue to place pre-eminence on delivering value to shareholders.
When asked to assign importance to different forms of value, economic value for shareholders took the lead, followed closely by functional value to customers. Ethical, societal, and emotional value all scored lower in terms of relative importance to executives, and nine in 10 reported top priorities aligned with economic value creation: managing investor expectations, business transformation, and securing talent.
KRC Research, Weber Shandwick鈥檚 research arm, conducted this global survey from November 14 to December 4, 2024, among 200 global C-suite business executives, drawn from an executive panel representing top multinational product and service corporations with global operations across North America, Latin America, EMEA and APAC.
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