Globalisation and trade

Taking a step back to look at the global picture, executives in CEE agree with their international peers’ view that the world is moving toward multiple, fragmented ecosystems rather than a singular, seamless one

But they’re less strongly convinced than their global counterparts: for example, they’re more likely than average to believe the world is moving toward a single global market place rather than regional trading blocs, and toward common global beliefs and value systems rather than multiple beliefs and value systems.

Still, executives in the region take a slightly dimmer view of globalisation thus far than their international peers, in particular with regard to closing the gap between rich and poor, with 53% saying the process hasn’t contributed at all (compared with 39% globally).

When asked to name the three countries other than the one where they’re based that are most important for their organisations, CEOs in the region picked the US (37%), Germany (35%) and China (22%).

The same countries took the top three spots globally, but in a different order, with the US at 46%, China at 33% and Germany at 20%.For Russian companies, the results were 45% US, 38% China and 26% Germany. In the global survey, Russia has returned to the top 10 most important countries after an absence of five years.