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Accelerating Europe's path to reinvention

Jänner 16, 2023 10-Minuten Zeit

RESEARCH REPORT

In brief

Executives face unprecedented challenges

High dependency on energy imports

19% of European respondents cited rising energy costs as the top challenge to margins across industries.

Climate risk

91% of European companies will miss meeting their own net-zero targets based on current trends.[2]

Regional talent gap

The EU’s quarterly job vacancy rate of all available jobs in Q3 2022 is 2.9%, only slightly down from 3% in Q2 (the highest rate since 2013).[3]

Political fragmentation

76% of European executives anticipate increasing regional divergences and fragmentation of the world economy in the next 12 months.[4]

Manufacturing disruption

Some companies may consider relocating operations to avoid costs and to gain subsidies elsewhere.

Changing consumer behavior

60% of consumers say their priorities keep changing due to everything going on in the world.5

European growth is comparatively low

Exploring European strengths and weaknesses

The role of technology in reinvention

Unpacking Europe’s technology deficit

Cloud services

81% have increased implementation vs. 71% globally; 65% in North America

AI and automation

75% vs. 66% globally; 62% in North America

Security

76% vs. 69% globally; 63% in North America 8

Europe needs to shift from squeezing to investing

16.9%

On average, European executives report that 16.9% of global revenues are invested in transformation initiatives like R&D, new technologies and joint ventures vs. 18.8% in China and 20% in US.9

$388bn

If European companies had invested in R&D at the same rate as North American companies, this would have equated to an additional $388 billion in investment over the past five years.10

European businesses commit to Total Enterprise Reinvention

Methodology

References

Jean-Marc Ollagnier

CEO – EMEA

Jean-Marc is the chief executive officer of Accenture in Europe and is a member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee.


Michael Brueckner

Lead – Strategy, EMEA

Michael leads Growth & Strategy for Europe, overseeing all aspects of Accenture’s strategy In Europe.


Svenja Falk

Managing Director – Research, EMEA

Prof.Dr. Svenja Falk leads Europe operations for Accenture Research, heads Accenture's Berlin office and is a member of the Accenture Foundation Executive Board.