Article at a glance:
The second McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives, with responses from almost 5,500 executives in 113 countries, finds business leaders still upbeat about the global economy, although their enthusiasm has waned a bit in the past four months. Executives in China and India are the most optimistic, while the confidence of those in other developing markets fell the furthest. Pricing is still under pressure, but companies around the world indicate that they will boost IT spending and hire new employees in the coming months.
The take-away
Executives from larger companies generally plan to increase their investments in China and India, and they see those countries as important sources of talent—although there are striking regional differences. CEOs and CIOs differ on how much IT spending will increase and on what business processes are most reliant on IT. Globally, IT and telecommunications are the industries most likely to hire but least likely to raise prices.
This article includes the following exhibits:
- Exhibit 1: McKinsey Global Confidence Index by region
- Exhibit 2: Global economic expectations for second half of 2004
- Exhibit 3: Global pricing outlook
- Exhibit 4: Workforce expectations by company size, region
- Exhibit 5: Plans for R&D investment in China, India
- Exhibit 6: Confidence in China’s leadership
- Exhibit 7: IT spending forecast (CIOs & CTOs vs. all others)
- Exhibit 8: IT spending forecast (CIOs & CTOs by region)
- Exhibit 9: CIOs' stance on the economy