Digital Disruption: the global view Digital disruption may be affecting organizations across the world, In seeking leadership around this change, Finns tend to look more but that doesn’t mean that its impacts are identical from country to to a single role rather than the boardroom as a whole. While global country. While the issues that define disruption are universal - rapid respondents identified digital disruption as something that requires change, greater innovation and fiercer competition, to name but a the attention of the entire C-Suite, less than a fifth (17%) of business few - the degree to which they translate into business impact can leaders in Finland share that view. Instead, they feel that the onus vary between nations. lies with the CEO (41%). What follows is a summary of the most pertinent trends by country. The explanation for this more centralized approach may lie in the subsequent finding that around half (52%) of Finnish respondents feel that their digital direction is being shaped by shareholders, Australia rather than customers (31%). No matter who is responsible for Just as elsewhere, digital disruption is having a tremendous impact driving or leading the digital agenda in Finland though, business on Australian business. Less than five percent of Antipodean leaders show huge positivity towards the opportunities it presents - respondents say that they’ve yet to see the impact of digital 97% are excited by the potential of a digitally disrupted world. disruption on their organization, and more than the global average (95% Australia / 92% global) admit that their business needs to evolve in order to thrive. Where Australian business leaders France differ however, is in the level of confidence and optimism they In France, it seems, the more things change, the more they stay demonstrate towards the digital opportunity. the same. While we see widespread acknowledgement of digital disruption’s many impacts, French respondents are more resistant to Just 12% of Australians surveyed said that they felt their own change than their global peers. organization is leading digital disruption, the second lowest global response, while almost a fifth (18%) say that they are worried by the In many key areas, French business leaders either match or track trend. Only 70% see digital disruption as a positive impact on their slightly ahead of global averages. Almost all say that digital business, against a global average of 81%. disruption has impacted their business (99% / 98% global), for instance, and they are similarly receptive to the idea that their In spite of this slightly more downbeat viewpoint however, business business needs to evolve (92% both). At the same time, Gallic leaders from Australia still recognize the benefits of technology and respondents are less convinced that their organization (45% / 52% co-creation: 61% say that tech is at the heart of their organization’s global) or sector (62% / 75%) will fundamentally change within five ability to thrive, and 63% embrace the concept of collaborating with years. Consequently, less than average see the need to innovate technology experts to keep their business competitive. faster (59% / 71%). This hesitancy to change at speed may be rooted in underlying Finland fears about the consequences of doing so. Almost a third (31%) are Finnish business leaders shared some of the strongest viewpoints worried about the impact of digital disruption on their organization, in the global survey. Every single respondent confirmed that their the highest response in the survey, and less than half (45%) feel business has been affected by digital disruption, and they all agree that France is a leading light in digital disruption globally. that their organization needs to evolve in order to thrive, as well. It should come as little surprise, then, that well over three quarters of Finnish respondents expect their business to look very different by 2021 (86% Finland / 52% global). 12