The top threats to business and the greatest opportunities for impact in the year ahead
Presciently, climate change, geopolitics and income and wealth inequality were all flagged by INSEAD faculty as the biggest risks to business.
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For the fifth year running, the Edelman Trust Barometer has identified business as the leading institution to address urgent issues in society. The 2025 survey – which captured the sentiments of 33,000 people across 28 countries – found that business is perceived as more competent, ethical and able to get things done when compared to governments, NGOs and the media.
However, the survey also found that a “crisis of grievance” has developed globally. Respondents believed that business is not doing enough to address issues of affordability (64 percent), climate change (62 percent), retraining (56 percent), misinformation (55 percent) and discrimination (53 percent).
What do INSEAD faculty think? For the fourth year in a row, we conducted a survey to capture their views on global trends and the greatest risks and opportunities for business in the new year. A total of 64 faculty members from all nine academic areas took part. Here, we compare our results with new data and insights from the World Economic Forum (WEF), Eurasia Group, the World Bank, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and other global thought leaders to shed light on what lies ahead.
Presciently, climate change, geopolitics and income and wealth inequality were all flagged by INSEAD faculty as the biggest risks to business. Multiple storms, hurricanes, wildfires, floods and droughts ravaged almost all areas of the globe, while heatwaves across Asia and the Pacific highlighted the disproportionate impact of global warming on low- and lower-middle-income countries. Elections in over 60 countries led to power shifts, protests and an escalation of right-wing and populist movements, while war efforts intensified, and many parts of the world saw an uptick in social instability. Finally, the World Bank’s 2024 report, “Pathways Out of the Polycrisis”, indicated that progress to reduce global poverty has stalled, with nearly 700 million people globally living in extreme poverty, and the rate of poverty in low-income countries higher than it was before the Covid-19 pandemic.
[This article is republished courtesy of INSEAD Knowledge, the portal to the latest business insights and views of The Business School of the World. Copyright INSEAD 2024]