A new report has revealed that just 20% of chief strategy officers (CSOs) are well prepared for sudden industry disruption, even though 93% agree that new technologies will rapidly change their industry over the next five years.
Accenture surveyed 561 CSOs across 10 industries in 11 countries and found companies that are better prepared for industry disruption are focusing more in increasing and expanding their ecosystem partnerships.
According to the survey, 95% of the best-prepared CSOs said that their company growth agendas over the next five years will depend on collaborative partnerships.
The strategy is being used to support innovation and research and development, compared to just half of those who say they are less prepared.
Accenture said companies that are disruption-ready are 34% more likely than those less prepared to partner with advertising agencies.
They are also 36% more likely to partner with companies beyond their traditional industry boundaries, and 32% more likely to align with firms they think are direct competitors.
88% of CSOs who claim to be very well prepared for industry disruption are already investing heavily in platform-based business models and will continue to do so into the future, compared to only 42% of those who admit they are less prepared.
Among the group of CSOs who are actively investing in the platforms, those that achieve the better benefits are far more likely than their peers to build operating models that are collaborative and open, the report said.
Accenture Institute for High Performance managing director Paul Nunes said: “Rapid and disruptive change is coming, regardless of the industry that you operate in.
“Current economic outlook suggests that based on the declining lifespan of companies, 75 percent of today’s leading industry players will be gone within the next decade.
“Our research shows that although some companies aren’t ready for this disruption, they can borrow from the playbook of those who are by ensuring they don’t face it alone and make strategic investments in technology platforms that support more collaborative operating models.”
