Confidence in action

One result of convergence in the world’s economies is the tightening of competitive forces. Just as companies are looking to expand into foreign markets, they are increasingly finding themselves having to fend off new entrants from overseas. The competitive dynamics of an industry can change very quickly. Add to that the risks present in the current economic outlook and most CEOs could be nervous, particularly those in emerging markets, who remember the volatile swims of past economic cycles.

Or maybe not ... PwC’s 11th Annual Global CEO Survey showed that, in some respects, emerging-market CEOs are distinctly more confident about their short and long-term growth prospects than those in developed economies. The question though, is how to translate confidence into action and sustainable market leadership? Our observations align with a pattern we observed: successful emerging-market CEOs identify potential risks, and leverage innovative responses into competitive differentiators that allow them to succeed in a converging world. PricewaterhouseCoopers has identified strategic drivers that companies leverage to achieve differentiation and succeed in a converging world: based on asset, process and organisational dimensions.

Exhibit 2: Emerging market CEOs very confident about their growth prospects