It is a truism that the world is changing, and changing fast. Globalisation has accelerated the opening up of new markets to international collaboration, and changed the nature of commerce forever.
But, of course, we know all this already. This process has been well-documented, its impact dissected at length and its ramifications discussed in academic, political and sociological circles, let alone in boardrooms around the world.
The fact that change is upon us is in itself not really the point. Rather, it is the pace of that change that is most worthy of further examination, particularly when, as is becoming apparent, the traditional engine rooms of the globalising process are arguably about to be overtaken by the economies in which they were driving the most drastic change of all.
Caught up, as we all are, in the changing world, it is difficult to observe that change and understand your role in it now and in the future. It is difficult to recognise how quickly things are changing - and whether you are going to be left behind. Or, depending on your viewpoint, of course, find yourself out in front.
This is where some solid facts become invaluable, and our latest international study has thrown one aspect of globalisation, and how it is transforming attitudes between businesses in the developed world and those in developing markets, into stark relief.
Threatening Skies: Risk in the Global Economy is a snapshot of the opinions and anxieties of board-level executives from around the world, about risk management and its impact on collaboration and growth. One headline finding, given that we've been talking about the pace of change, was that developing economies seem to have overtaken developed markets when it comes to capitalising on the benefits of risk management.
Enterprises in Brazil, China, India and SA are more likely than those in 'developed' economies to see risk management as a means of increasing competitive advantage and encouraging innovation and creativity. They are also significantly more likely to be investing heavily in risk management strategies and systems than their counterparts in the US and Europe.
They have acted on this by being more likely to have a board-level corporate security officer (CSO) or corporate risk officer (CRO), more likely to view this as a valued investment and twice as likely to have a risk management strategy for global risks.
Spot the difference
The fact that change is upon us is in itself not really the point. Rather, it is the pace of that change that is most worthy of further examination.
Mark Danton is global head of BT's Security Proposition Marketing.
At first glance, that's a pretty compelling set of findings. The immediate conclusion will be that developed markets need to learn how and why businesses in emerging economies have such differing attitudes to risk. While it is undoubtedly true that the nature of pushing for growth in a nascent economy is inherently more risk-laden than building on growth in a mature market, this surely cannot be the only factor behind such significant disparities. There must be more to the story.
A few more findings reveal this is most certainly the case. The vast majority of businesses in the developing world (89%) see international collaboration, either intra- or inter-company, as being vital to the success of their business in the future. But a large proportion (68%) also believes that organisations from developed markets remain suspicious of the assurances they offer about their risk management policies, particularly when it comes to ICT, which clearly bodes ill for successful collaboration.
Firstly, this is not without reason - as respondents conceded. More than half of executives in developing regions themselves admitted that the threat of international cyber-espionage, hacking or Web fraud, is more likely to come from a source located in a developing economy such as (but not limited to) Russia, India, Brazil or China.
But that aside, the sense that the 'West' distrusts its emerging peers, insofar as capacity to provide assurance against 'risk' is concerned, is, to say the least, worrying for the prospects of successful global collaboration. Where there is a lack of trust in a relationship, there is likely to be neither a rosy future nor a happy ending. This is as true of business as love, and, correspondingly, it is the responsibility of both parties to address the issue.
* Mark Danton is global head of BT's Security Proposition Marketing.
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