In an increasingly digital-driven world, technology has created a new dynamic between business and customers bringing huge benefits for both. However on the flip side 69% of CEOs say it is harder to gain and keep people’s trust in this environment and 87% believe risks from use of social media could have a negative impact on the level of trust in their industry. 91% of CEOs also agree data privacy and ethics issues could impact people’s trust in their organisations in the next five years.
Those are some of the outcomes from PwC’s 20th annual survey of CEOs’ confidence worldwide. The study has been presented today at the Davos Summit by Bob Moritz (elected as Global Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Network since July 2016).
CEOs say that technology is now inseparable from business’ reputation, skills and recruitment, competition and growth. Furthermore, almost a quarter of respondents believe technology will completely reshape competition in their industry over the next five years (23%), but they also can foresee the risks.
After several high-profile technology and security issues for big companies, CEOs unsurprisingly identify cyber security, data privacy breaches and IT disruptions as the top three technology threats to stakeholder trust.
Twenty years ago, trust wasn’t high on the business radar for CEOs. 15 years ago only 12% of CEOs thought public trust in companies had greatly declined. This year, 58% worry that a lack of trust in business will harm their company’s growth, up from 37% in 2013.
“CEOs expect it to become harder to sustain trust in the digital era. But competitive advantage will go to those with the greatest capacity to turn technology into their strength when coupled with the ability to connect with their stakeholders in an on-going relationship grounded in trust,” added Bob Moritz.
The issue technology and trust is just one among many other surveyed in PWC’s research.
Image over the headline.- © PWC
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