By Holly Lyke-Ho-Gland Case Study Research Analyst Growth Team Membership Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan’s Growth Team Membership™ (GTM) recently completed its 2010 survey of corporate strategy executives in the Americas and Europe. The executives were asked to identify their most pressing challenges for 2010. GTM will focus its best practices research to address the prominent issues identified in the survey.

This article summarizes the key survey results. There were 62 respondents.

Corporate Strategy in 2010—A Snapshot

       •  Corporate strategists are feeling more optimistic: the majority
          predicts a moderate increase in their company’s 2010
          performance.

       •  The Corporate Strategy function’s main external challenge is the
          need for product/service innovation and capabilities as a source
          of organic growth.

       •  The key internal challenge is developing effective strategy
           implementation plans.

       •  The internal challenges are caused by staff and process
           shortcomings.

       •  Most corporate strategy executives rate their function as
          “average” in terms of effectiveness.

       •  2010, in contrast to 2009, will see stability in resources as
          staffing levels and budgets will remain static in 2010.

       •  Respondents indicate that Environment/Sustainability is the
          primary sociopolitical issue affecting their company strategy.

       •  Respondents are focusing on Green Innovation to create new
          market opportunities.

       •  Sustainability programs in B-to-B companies are more likely
          to be managed by the CEO. In Hybrid companies sustainability
          programs are just as likely to be managed by the Corporate
          Strategy department as the CEO.

Corporate Strategy Survey Executive Summary

Corporate Strategy executives’ primary external challenges are a tougher competitive environment and changing customer behavior driving the need to create organic growth through the introduction of new products or services. The function continue to struggle with strategy implementation: creating effective implementation plans and developing a monitoring system to give early warning of problems with implementation. In addition, Corporate Strategy struggles to align financial and strategic objectives and balance the need for short-term profits with long-term goals. In terms of resources, for most respondents, budgets and staffing levels will remain unchanged from 2009.There is little diversity in internal challenges by business model.

When asked about the root causes of their internal challenges, respondents identified difficulties with staff and process as the underlying causes. This frustration with staff capabilities is reflected in corporate strategy executives’ evaluation of their function’s effectiveness as “average.”

In the last decade, environmental and sociopolitical issues have increasingly impacted how businesses create value for their customers and shareholders, and shaped company reputation. Environment/Sustainability is cited as the primary sociopolitical issue impacting 2010 planning by corporate strategists.

The effects of globalization, dwindling natural resources, increasing government regulation, and consumer expectations are driving sustainability from a nice to have option to a matter of company survival. For respondents sustainability translates into initiatives to build a green product portfolio—for new market expansion; comply with government regulation; and create a corporate social responsibility program that augments corporate reputation.

Respondent Demographics

       •  The respondents work predominantly for public (58 percent)
          rather than private (35 percent) companies

       •  Most respondents (75 percent ) work in a business-to-business
          (B2B) environment

       •  Most respondents (33 percent) comes from firms with revenues
          between $1 and $11 billion

If you have questions regarding the survey, or are interested in learning more about GTM’s corporate strategy best practices, please contact us at: GTMResearch@frost.com.