Management journal articles

Stop AI from Eroding Your Brand

Authors: Sean Lyons, Ndidi Oteh and Joshua Bellin
Published: July, 2026

The companies winning with AI are building better products and stronger brands because they’re getting ahead of a problem many competitors don’t yet recognize: brand debt.

Most executives are familiar with technical debt, the hidden costs that accumulate when companies make short-term technology decisions to move faster. Brand debt works much the same way. It builds when a company’s products, customer experiences, policies, or messaging drift out of sync with what customers expect. Small shortcuts, fragmented product launches, pricing decisions that prioritize short-term margins, or inconsistent experiences may seem manageable on their own. Over time, they erode trust, relevance, and loyalty. AI makes those costs accumulate much faster.


Read full report

Stop AI from Eroding Your Brand

The companies winning with AI are building better products and stronger brands because they’re getting ahead of a problem many competitors don’t yet recognize: brand debt...

more

Read Report

What CEOs Need to Know About Sovereign AI

Authors: Mauro Macchi, Ajoy Menon, Mauro Capo, and Surya Mukherjee
Published: July 2026

As multinational companies implement artificial intelligence workflows and look to adopt AI across their global operations, they are increasingly running up against country-specific regulations and policies that aim to govern AI and align its use with national priorities and local cultural norms. These regulations and policies — which fall under the umbrella of “sovereign AI” — govern where data is stored and processed, whose infrastructure is used for training and operating AI models, and how algorithmic decisions are reviewed and enforced in a given jurisdiction. Many markets are now developing their own sovereign AI frameworks to reduce dependence on the United States and China, where nearly 70% of leading AI models originated.

Read full report

What CEOs Need to Know About Sovereign AI

Chief executives can balance the local ambitions of countries with the global scale of innovation in a changing geopolitical environment.

more

Read Report

The Best Manufacturers Build AI with Workers, Not for Them

Authors: Tracey Countryman, Inge Oosterhuis, Jeff Wheless and Rushda Afzal
Published: May 2026

Executives are optimistic about AI’s potential to transform manufacturing. Workers, on the other hand, are more skeptical. In a seven-week internal unpublished study of video diaries from 85 frontline workers across six industries in Australia, the UK and the United States, we asked workers to describe how emerging technologies, including AI, are being introduced into their jobs, what training they receive, and how they see their future. Across industries, distrust ran deep, of both the tools and the organizations deploying them. More than three-quarters of participants said they were dissatisfied with their training. Many were uncertain about how their roles would change or whether they would have a place in the future factory.

Read full report

The Best Manufacturers Build AI with Workers, Not for Them

Manufacturers are pushing ahead with AI, but workers often feel unprepared, uncertain, and distrustful. Research shows a clear...

more

Read Report

Design Processes to Evolve with Emerging Technology

Authors: Manish Sharma, Lan Guan and H. James Wilson
Published: January 2026

For decades, companies have relied on episodic, high-cost transformation efforts that rarely changed how work actually gets done. This article argues that emerging technologies—especially generative and agentic AI—are enabling a fundamental shift: from periodic overhaul to continuous evolution. By making processes fully visible, testable through digital twins, and executable by autonomous AI agents, organizations can dramatically reduce coordination costs and redesign work on an ongoing basis. Leading companies are already using these capabilities to experiment safely, adapt faster and elevate human roles. The result is a new operating model built not for stability, but for perpetual reinvention in a rapidly changing world.

Read full report

Design Processes to Evolve with Emerging Technology

For decades, companies have relied on episodic, high-cost transformation efforts that rarely changed how work actually gets done....

more

Read Report

For Multinational Companies, Localization Matters More Than Ever

Authors: Muqsit Ashraf, Tomas Castagnino and Giju Mathew
Published: January 2026
​

For decades, multinational companies optimized for scale, assuming global integration would outweigh local variation. That assumption no longer holds. In a world marked by geopolitical fragmentation, regulatory divergence and data sovereignty, firms can no longer rely on surface-level localization. The article argues that advantage now comes from operating as a network of deeply rooted regional businesses that can comply, compete and innovate locally while remaining globally coordinated. Companies that succeed invest in regional capabilities, shape local ecosystems and standards, and use AI to connect front-line decisions across markets. Today, enduring advantage depends less on size and more on the ability to operate independently everywhere while acting as one enterprise.

Read full report

For Multinational Companies, Localization Matters More Than Ever

For decades, multinational companies optimized for scale, assuming global integration would outweigh local variation. That assumption no longer holds. In a world marked by geopolitical fragmentation...

more

Read Report

Five Traits of Tech-Driven CEOs

Authors: Ravi Chanmugam, Michael Lyman, and Paul Daugherty
Published: October 2025

A new class of CEOs is redefining leadership in the age of AI. The article argues that technology-driven CEOs don’t treat digital tools as operational support but as a primary source of strategic advantage. These leaders personally engage with emerging technologies, make bold bets to reinvent business models, elevate data as a core asset, attract top technical talent and actively shape innovation ecosystems. Their edge comes not from technical backgrounds but from mindset: a willingness to learn, reimagine first principles and lead transformation hands-on. In an era of accelerating disruption, reinvention is no longer a function—it is the CEO’s job.

Read full report

Five Traits of Tech-Driven CEOs

A new class of CEOs is redefining leadership in the age of AI. The article argues that technology-driven CEOs don’t treat digital tools as operational support but as a primary...

more

Read Report

Three essentials for agentic AI security

Publisher: MIT Sloan Management Review
Authors: Paolo Dal Cin, Daniel Kendzior, Yusof Seedat, Renato Marinho
Published: June 2025

The article presents a three-phase framework to secure autonomous AI systems. Phase one involves threat modeling and mapping to identify vulnerabilities, especially data poisoning and prompt injection. Phase two includes stress- testing through adversarial simulations like red-teaming exercises to expose and mitigate threats. Phase three enforces real-time safeguards, such as enhancing guardrails, validating inputs and controlling access. A Brazilian healthcare company’s example illustrated the importance of secure data access, governance protocols and continuous monitoring. This framework is crucial for organizations scaling AI agents while ensuring robust security and trust.

Read full report

Three essentials for agentic AI security

The article presents a three-phase framework to secure autonomous AI systems. Phase one involves threat modeling and mapping...

more

Read Report

Tacit Knowledge Is Your Next Competitive Moat

Authors: Teresa Tung, Philippe Roussiere

Published: March 2026

Most companies see AI as a data and technology challenge. Collect more information. Train larger models. Scale automation across the enterprise. While these efforts are essential, companies making the most progress with agentic AI recognize something deeper: The real differentiator is not the data or even the models, but the “tacit knowledge” embedded in the judgment of their people.

Read full report

Tacit Knowledge Is Your Next Competitive Moat

As agentic and generative AI spread through business, the need to capture tacit knowledge is growing fast ...

more

Read Report

The Skills Mismatch Economy

Authors: Eric Bradlow, James Crowley, Ken Munie, Selen Karaca-Griffin
Published: January 2026

Wharton and Accenture collaborated to introduce the Wharton–Accenture Skills Index (WAsX), an empirical benchmark that examines the evolving mismatch between workforce skills and employer needs. The report highlights significant shifts that AI is driving, showing an oversupply of generalist skills and critical deficits in specialized, technical and execution-oriented capabilities. WAsX demonstrates how skill values are highly context-specific, challenging the traditional notion that certain skills universally command high value. The study urges employers to redesign job roles based on precise skill needs, while employees can leverage insights to build a targeted portfolio of high-value skills.

Read full report

The Skills Mismatch Economy

Wharton and Accenture collaborated to introduce the Wharton–Accenture Skills Index (WAsX), an empirical benchmark that examines the evolving mismatch...

more

Read Report

The secret to successful AI-driven process redesign

Publisher: Harvard Business Review
Authors: Paul Daugherty, H. James Wilson
Published: January/February 2025

AI agents, when paired with human oversight, can dramatically boost process efficiency and quality. The article addresses how AI is transforming industries, from manufacturing to pharmaceuticals, by empowering employees and reducing waste. A key challenge is integrating AI to augment human capabilities, not replace them. The solution lies in combining human oversight with AI autonomy, ensuring processes align with business goals. For instance, the AI model achieved 90% precision and 84% recall in workflow completion, and Merck saw a 50% reduction in false rejects. Potential clients should identify processes ripe for AI redesign, understand AI capabilities and empower employees through training, leading to enhanced efficiency and a culture of continuous improvement.

Read full report

The secret to successful AI-driven process redesign

AI agents, when paired with human oversight, can dramatically boost process efficiency and quality. The article addresses how AI is transforming industries...

more

Read Report

Designing Autonomous Enterprises for Industry 5.0

Authors: Max Blanchet

Across industries, organizations are at an inflection point. For more than a century, they have been built on two primary assets: labor and capital. Now, a third has emerged—data intelligence. Real-time data flows, AI agents and the embedded knowledge they generate are rapidly becoming the foundations of autonomous activities that create value. This new asset class is forcing leaders to rethink not just how their companies operate, but how they are organized, led and governed.

Autonomy is not automation. While automation executes predefined tasks, autonomy (enabled by AI) perceives context, analyzes situations, makes decisions and acts—without human intervention. Autonomy reorganizes decision-making itself, shifting away from human bottlenecks and toward intelligent systems that operate at speed and scale.

Read full report

Designing Autonomous Enterprises for Industry 5.0

This article explores how organizations can transition to autonomous enterprises by combining AI, robotics and IoT in ways that augment human capabilities ...

more

Read Report

The future of demand for chemicals

Publisher: CHEManager
Authors: Bernd Elser
Published: March 2025

The chemical industry is seeing a major shift toward sustainability, with demand for sustainability-related chemical products growing 4.5x faster than conventional ones. This trend is driven by consumer preferences and companies across industries aligning their offerings. To capitalize on this opportunity, chemical companies must revise how they go to market, from value propositions to business models.

Read full report

The future of demand for chemicals

The chemical industry is seeing a major shift toward sustainability, with demand for sustainability-related chemical products growing...

more

Read Report

5 questions to ask before Investing in humanoid robots

Publisher: Harvard Business Review
Authors: Adam Burden, Christian Souche, Shruti Shalini Alpana Dubey
Published: May 2025

Humanoid robots, once niche, are rapidly advancing—driven by gen AI, falling production costs and digital twin training environments. This convergence makes them increasingly viable across manufacturing, healthcare and hospitality. Despite declining robot prices—from $58,000 a piece to a projected $20,000 by 2032—and productivity gains of up to 400%, barriers persist: integration complexity, safety concerns and uncertain ROI. Executives must ask five questions—about business value, integration, safety, training and return on investment—to ensure humanoid robots enhance human productivity and align with strategic outcomes. Leveraging Robotics-as-a-Service, digital twins and transparent communication can help organizations build trust, ensure safety and maximize the benefits of human-robot collaboration.

Read full report

5 questions to ask before Investing in humanoid robots

Humanoid robots, once niche, are rapidly advancing—driven by gen AI, falling production costs and digital twin training environments...

more

Read Report

Avoiding the Janus trap:
Why Europe must commit to AI-powered reinvention

Publisher: The European Business Review
Authors: Mauro Macchi, Matt Prebble, Dominic King, Laura Ann Wright
Published: July 2025

Europe risks falling into the “Janus trap”—acknowledging AI’s promise while hesitating to act. Though AI could boost productivity and resilience, only 8% of strategic generative AI investments in Europe have been scaled, and more than half of large firms have yet to scale even one. Larger companies are pulling ahead, with AI capability scores averaging 54 versus just 39 for mid-sized peers. Automotive and aerospace lead, while energy, telecoms and utilities lag. Closing the competitiveness gap requires bolder bets, stronger digital cores and a sovereign AI ecosystem. Without faster action, Europe will remain stuck between the past and the future.

Read full report

Avoiding the Janus trap

Europe risks falling into the “Janus trap”—acknowledging AI’s promise while hesitating to act. Though AI could boost productivity and resilience, only 8% of strategic...

more

Read Report

Can Europe Inc. make decarbonization its competitive edge?

Publisher: The European Business Review
Authors: Wytse Kaastra, Matthew Robinson, Babak Moussavi, Josh Elkin
Published: June 2025

Europe leads the world in corporate decarbonization, but this leadership has yet to translate into competitive advantage. While 67% of large European firms are cutting operational emissions and 64% have net-zero targets across value chains, high energy costs, regulatory complexity and fragmented efforts persist. To compete, companies must rethink market positioning, accelerate emissions reductions and embrace deeper collaboration. With the EU sourcing 47% of electricity from renewables and launching the €100 billion Clean Industrial Deal, firms have a window to act. The path forward: scale green technologies, redesign offerings for future markets and partner systemically to unlock sustainable growth.

Read full report

Can Europe Inc. make decarbonization its competitive edge?

Europe leads the world in corporate decarbonization, but this leadership has yet to translate into competitive advantage...

more

Read Report

Five Actions for Scaling AI Sustainably

Author: Stephanie Jamison, Sanjay Podder, Adam Burden, Shalabh Kumar Singh and Matthew C. Robinson
Published: January 2026

The environmental impact of artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the most pressing challenges of our time. By 2030, according to our estimates at Accenture, AI’s energy consumption will grow over 10x, reaching 612 tera-watt hours (TWh) annually—the equivalent of Canada’s total electricity consumption. This significant strain on global power grids will see AI’s carbon emissions surge 11-fold to 718 million metric tons by 2030, accounting for 3.4 per cent of global emissions (up from 0.2 per cent today). Simultaneously, AI hubs are projected to consume over 3 billion cubic metres of water every year that is not returned to original sources due to evaporation and other losses. That’s more than the total annual freshwater withdrawals of countries like Norway or Sweden.

Read full report

Five Actions for Scaling AI Sustainably

AI’s efficiency gains risk creating a new sustainability problem, but this article argues the answer is not slower adoption, it is smarter scaling ...

more

Read Report

Navigating the ethical landscape of generative AI

Publisher: The European Business Review
Authors: Laetitia Cailleteau, Philippe Roussiere, Professor Thierry Rayna
Published: February 2025

As gen AI adoption accelerates, organizations face a pivotal challenge: how to scale innovation while managing risk. Only 2% of CEOs currently demonstrate leading practices in responsible AI, though 31% plan to close the gap this year under mounting regulatory pressure from frameworks like the EU AI Act. This article outlines a pragmatic roadmap across four fronts—improving reliability and fairness, designing safe user experiences, preparing the workforce and aligning AI with sustainability goals. Solutions include human oversight, red-teaming, synthetic data, AI literacy and sustainable model design. The future of gen AI hinges on proactive, responsible leadership.

Read full report

Navigating the ethical landscape of generative AI

As gen AI adoption accelerates, organizations face a pivotal challenge: how to scale innovation while managing risk. Only 2% of CEOs currently demonstrate...

more

Read Report

Managing cybersecurity in the age of artificial intelligence​

Publisher: Ivey Business Journal
Authors: Paolo Dal Cin, Valerie Abend, Daniel Kendzio, Yusof Seedat
Published: August/September 2024

The article explores the dual nature of gen AI: while it boosts productivity—92% of companies expect productivity gains of over 11% in the next three years—it also introduces serious cybersecurity vulnerabilities. These include insecure AI deployments, increased accessibility for malicious actors and uncontrolled employee experimentation, enabling sophisticated threats such as deepfakes and advanced phishing. To address these risks, this article highlights a three-pronged approach: modernizing security setups, heightening employee awareness and building a trusted technology foundation. By implementing these strategies, businesses can harness the power of gen AI while safeguarding against emerging cyber threats, ensuring that the technology’s benefits far outweigh its risks.

Read full report

Managing cybersecurity in the age of artificial intelligence

The article explores the dual nature of gen AI: while it boosts productivity—92% of companies expect productivity gains of over 11% in the next...

more

Read Report

Embracing gen AI at work​

Publisher: Harvard Business Review
Authors: H. James Wilson, Paul Daugherty
Published: September/October 2024

Artificial intelligence is now accessible to almost anyone, transforming over 40% of work activities. This article shows why to succeed in this new era of human-machine collaboration by mastering three “fusion skills” is crucial. Intelligent interrogation involves guiding AI to generate better outcomes—by, say, breaking processes down into steps or visualizing multiple potential paths to a solution. Judgment integration ensures AI output is reliable and ethical by incorporating human expertise and safeguarding data. Reciprocal apprenticing tailors AI to your company’s specific needs, enhancing both the AI and your skills over time. Mastering these skills will prepare you to thrive in the ongoing AI revolution.

Read full report

Embracing gen AI at work

Artificial intelligence is now accessible to almost anyone, transforming over 40% of work activities. This article shows why to succeed in this new era of human-machine collaboration by mastering...

more

Read Report

Three ways AI is changing how
companies work

Publisher: Harvard Business Review
Authors: Karthik Narain, Bhaskar Ghosh, H. James Wilson, Prashant Shukla
Published: December 2024

AI is the “new digital” revolution, promising to generate as much growth in IT services over the next five years as was seen in the previous 10, according to our economic analysis. How? AI is transforming business operations in key areas such as real-time intelligence and data synthesis. The major complication it solves is the challenge of maintaining agility in a fast-paced business environment, where traditional periodic transformations are no longer sufficient. Our research suggests that businesses must evolve by training employees to be flexible, creative and strategic thinkers. For potential clients across industries, this means staying ahead of the curve with AI-driven insights, such as TikTok users spending 34 hours per month on the platform and 80% of Netflix content being AI-recommended, ensuring your business remains relevant and efficient.

Read full report

Three ways AI is changing how companies work

AI is the “new digital” revolution, promising to generate as much growth in IT services over the next five years as was seen in the previous 10, according to our economic...

more

Read Report

To help improve the accuracy of generative AI, add speed bumps

Publisher: MIT Sloan Management Review
Authors: Arnab Chakraborty
Published: November 2024

The article addresses the growing issue of inaccuracies and uncritical adoption of AI outputs, which can lead to errors and biases. The major complication is that users often overestimate their ability to detect these errors, posing potential risks. Our research suggests introducing targeted friction, like highlighting potential errors, to improve accuracy. For potential clients, the article recommends evaluating organizational readiness, assessing AI system risk, fostering a culture of experimentation and operationalizing continuous monitoring. We found a medium-friction condition helped users catch inaccuracies and omissions without significantly increasing task completion time, demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach.

Read full report

To help improve the accuracy of generative AI, add speed bumps

The article addresses the growing issue of inaccuracies and uncritical adoption of AI outputs, which can lead to errors and biases. The major complication...

more

Read Report

Don’t blame your mainframe—It’s a software problem

Publisher: Ivey Business Journal
Authors: Ram Ramalingam, Shalabh Kumar Singh, Seeju Kumar, Jai Bagmar
Published: July/August 2025

Mainframes remain reliable workhorses, but outdated software ecosystems are stifling innovation. Legacy COBOL and Assembler code—layered with decades of undocumented changes—makes modernization costly and slow. Generative AI shifts the economics by decoding and documenting millions of lines, surfacing duplications and enabling targeted refactoring or selective translation. Companies report modernization timelines cut by 50–60%, with test execution accelerated by 30%. Still, AI is no silver bullet: human architects must validate outputs and redesign business logic. The result is a new model of curation, where engineers reimagine systems for the cloud era. Done right, AI-driven modernization frees enterprises for growth, agility and reinvention.

Read full report

Don’t blame your mainframe—It’s a software problem

Mainframes remain reliable workhorses, but outdated software ecosystems are stifling innovation. Legacy COBOL and Assembler...

more

Read Report

Why IT matters: The art of successful carve-outs

Publisher: California Management Review
Authors: Rajive Wickramasinghe, Anthony M. Leraris, Niteen Bhagat, Shalabh Kumar Singh, Jai Bagmar
Published: May 2025

As carve-outs become more urgent amid rising corporate restructuring, IT emerges as a critical—and often underestimated—driver of success. Yet carve-outs face a triple challenge: complexity, speed and cost. Legacy systems, tight timelines and costly transition services threaten execution. Drawing on real-world cases, the article outlines four imperatives for successful carveouts: assessment, alignment, agility and acceleration. For example, one company achieved a €6.2M EBITDA uplift and €49.6M higher sale value through lean technology transformation. Carve-outs, when guided by a strategic digital core and powered by cloud, AI and automation, can unlock scalability, reduce costs and build future-ready organizations.

Read full report

Why IT matters: The art of successful carve-outs

As carve-outs become more urgent amid rising corporate restructuring, IT emerges as a critical—and often underestimated—driver of success...

more

Read Report

Understanding the promise of smart materials and 4D printing

Publisher: Ivey Business Journal
Published: June 2025
Authors: Seelan Naicker, Pradeep Roy, Shachi Jain

The article discusses the revolutionary potential of 4D printing, which combines intelligent materials and programmable design to create adaptive systems. Applications range from shape- shifting airplane wings and biodegradable medical implants to self-adjusting building components. Early adopters in aerospace and healthcare stand to gain strategic advantages, but the technology faces hurdles like high production costs, technical barriers and regulatory constraints. The global smart materials market is projected to reach US$150 billion by 2025. The article underscores how global collaboration can help overcome obstacles to fully harness the benefits of 4D printing.

Read full report

Understanding the promise of smart materials and 4D printing

The article discusses the revolutionary potential of 4D printing, which combines intelligent materials and programmable design to create adaptive...

more

Read Report

The secret to successful AI-driven process redesign

Publisher: Harvard Business Review
Authors: Paul Daugherty, H. James Wilson
Published: January/February 2025

AI agents, when paired with human oversight, can dramatically boost process efficiency and quality. The article addresses how AI is transforming industries, from manufacturing to pharmaceuticals, by empowering employees and reducing waste. A key challenge is integrating AI to augment human capabilities, not replace them. The solution lies in combining human oversight with AI autonomy, ensuring processes align with business goals. For instance, the AI model achieved 90% precision and 84% recall in workflow completion, and Merck saw a 50% reduction in false rejects. Potential clients should identify processes ripe for AI redesign, understand AI capabilities and empower employees through training, leading to enhanced efficiency and a culture of continuous improvement.

Read full report

The secret to successful AI-driven process redesign

AI agents, when paired with human oversight, can dramatically boost process efficiency and quality. The article addresses how AI is transforming industries...

more

Read Report

Advancing sustainable agriculture
Priorities for the fertilizer industry

Publisher: Agriculture Today
Authors: Gaurav Sharma
Published: November 2024

As the global push for sustainable agriculture intensifies, the fertilizer industry must pivot toward three imperatives: low-carbon ammonia, precision farming and biofertilizers. Ammonia, a key input, accounts for 2% of global carbon emissions, making the shift to blue and green alternatives urgent. Precision farming can improve nutrient efficiency and environmental outcomes, while biofertilizers offer eco-friendly solutions for soil health. Policy incentives, R&D investment and farmer education will be essential to scale these innovations. By aligning economic growth with ecological responsibility, the industry can play a pivotal role in global food security and climate resilience.

Read full report

Advancing sustainable agriculture

As the global push for sustainable agriculture intensifies, the fertilizer industry must pivot toward three imperatives: low-carbon ammonia, precision farming and biofertilizers...

more

Read Report

Are businesses ready for practical quantum computing?

Publisher: California Management Review
Authors: Carl Dukatz, Laura Converso
Published: July 2025

Quantum is edging toward practicality: in four months IBM, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and USTC unveiled chips tackling errors, coherence and scale, and the UN named 2025 the International Year of Quantum. Yet benefits differ from classical, benchmarks are fluid and ROI unclear. How should leaders respond? Treat quantum as strategy, not a science project: appoint a C-suite sponsor, design hybrid CPU/GPU/QPU architectures, run cloud pilots, collaborate to de-risk and begin post-quantum cryptography migrations. With practical advantage plausibly 5–10 years away—and ~2,800 firms expected to adopt QCaaS by 2030—early movers lock in talent, capabilities and ecosystem position while competitors wait.

Read full report

Are businesses ready for practical quantum computing?

Quantum is edging toward practicality: in four months IBM, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and USTC unveiled chips tackling errors...

more

Read Report

How to manage tech debt in the AI era

Publisher: MIT Sloan Management Review
Authors: Koenraad Schelfaut, Prashant P. Shukla
Published: September 2024​

Companies well-positioned for change allocate around 15% of their IT budgets to technical debt remediation. The article addresses the growing issue of technical debt in enterprise systems as companies adopt AI. Technical debt can hinder innovation and competitiveness, with annual costs in the US exceeding $2.41 trillion. All technical debt is AI technical debt. Our research found that effective management, not elimination, of technical debt is key to leveraging AI for innovation and growth. Our recommendations focus on recognizing that zero technical debt is not the goal, distinguishing between good and bad debt and prioritizing high-value fixes using the PAID framework. By reframing technical debt remediation as an investment in innovation capacity, companies can remain agile and competitive.

Read full report

How to manage tech debt in the AI era

Companies well-positioned for change allocate around 15% of their IT budgets to technical debt remediation. The article addresses the growing issue of technical debt in enterprise systems...

more

Read Report

Inclusivity in generative AI should be an attribute, not an add-on

Publisher: Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR)
Authors: Adam Burden, Laurie Henneborn
Published: October 2024

Humanoid robots represent one of the most exciting, emerging applications of gen AI. For people with disabilities, these robots have the potential to break through some of the most persistent and long-standing barriers to inclusivity and independence in the workforce and beyond. That could be game-changing—for individuals, employers and society. To make it happen, however, their design needs to reflect the inclusivity they are built to offer. Drawing on global research including survey responses from 5,042 individuals who identify as having a disability or being neurodiverse, this article offers readers insight on closing the gap between making an experience inclusive and designing an inclusive experience.

Read full report

Inclusivity in generative AI should be an attribute, not an add-on

Humanoid robots represent one of the most exciting, emerging applications of gen AI. For people with disabilities, these robots...

more

Read Report

Competitive advantage in the age of AI

Publisher: California Management Review
Authors: Jack Azagury, Michael Moore
Published: October 2024

As gen AI challenges traditional sources of competitive advantage, established companies must rethink their business strategies and find new ways to differentiate themselves. The authors see six new sources of competitive advantage that companies can harness in the age of AI: their data and, by extension, their digital core, their rate of learning, their depth of capability reinvention, the strength of their external partnerships and how trusted they are to use AI responsibly. These new sources lead to more value, more speed and greater differentiation. The market is already seeing strengths in these areas as the basis for future performance.

Read full report

Competitive advantage in the age of AI

As gen AI challenges traditional sources of competitive advantage, established companies must rethink their business...

more

Read Report

Profiting from the relationship between resilience and growth

Publisher: Ivey Business Journal
Authors: Muqsit Ashraf, Miguel Torreira, Tomas Castagnino, Rachel Burton, Ladan Davarzani
Published: September/October 2024

Resilience is a critical driver of long-term growth and profitability. Accenture’s research on 1,615 global companies found only 52% of high-performing companies maintained their edge through the 2019-2023 business cycle, while 11% saw a complete reversal of fortune. To stay ahead, companies need a holistic resilience strategy that encompasses financial strength, technology, global operations, talent and sustainability. Companies with high resilience scores are four times more likely to outperform peers, growing 6% faster and earning 8% higher profit margins. These translate into $420 million more in revenue and $704 million more in profit every year for the average company in our sample with $7 billion in revenue. This article proposes building a resilience-focused culture, investing in a balanced set of strengths across multiple functional capabilities and developing the talent to harness new technologies.

Read full report

Profiting from the relationship between resilience and growth

Resilience is a critical driver of long-term growth and profitability. Accenture’s research

more

Read Report

The $3.3 trillion climate question: Can data centres take the heat?

Authors: Arnab Chakraborty, Jennifer Jackson
Research lead: Shekhar Tewari
Published: October 2025

The AI-driven data centre boom has been likened to a gold rush. Economies across the world are racing to attract investment in digital infrastructure to boost sovereignty and competitiveness. Environmental risks, however, cannot be overlooked when locating these vast banks of servers that underpin our modern economy.

Analysis by the World Economic Forum finds that extreme heat, drought and other climate hazards could drive annual costs up at data centres globally by $81 billion by 2035, rising to $168 billion by 2065.


Read full report

The $3.3 trillion climate question: Can data centres take the heat?

Extreme heat, drought and other climate hazards could drive global data-center operating costs sharply higher, making resilience and sustainability a business imperative ...

more

Read Report

Turning Real-Time Satellite Data into a Competitive Advantage

Authors: Adam Burden, Paul Thomas, Shubhashis Sengupta and Shruti Shalini
Published: November 2025

Reinsurer Swiss Re streams near-real-time flood maps into its catastrophe-risk services, accelerating its claims processing and disaster response. Cargill, the Minnesota-based agribusiness company, uses a satellite-monitoring platform to track land use and forest loss across its global supply chains, strengthening its pledge to be deforestation-free by 2030. Maersk, the Copenhagen-based shipping and logistics company, has installed SpaceX Starlink broadband on more than 330 container vessels, improving communication and operational efficiency with cloud tools and remote management...

Read full report

Turning Real-Time Satellite Data into a Competitive Advantage

As satellite technology becomes cheaper and smarter, space-based intelligence is moving from the fringe to the core of business strategy...

more

Read Report

Rethinking Productivity

Authors: Patrick Vollmer, Shruti Shalini, Andreas Egetenmeyer​

When the auto industry faced severe shortages of semiconductor chips during the COVID-19 pandemic, Toyota fared better than most competitors. While many automakers delayed launches or shuttered plants, Toyota exceeded its 2021 sales targets and even unseated GM as the top seller in the United States despite facing the same headwinds. Its production system, long praised for efficiency, had also built in safeguards: stronger supplier visibility, diversified sourcing, and strategic buffer stocks. Though shortages later caught up, Toyota rebounded to record output by 2024.

Read full report

Rethinking Productivity

The article argues that manufacturing productivity must shift from cost-cutting to value creation, with resilience, adaptability and customer value at the core ...

more

Read Report

Living Your Organization’s AI Transformation

Authors: Stephen Wroblewski
Published: October 2025

Generative AI is tearing through the foundations of knowledge work—and leaders need to get personally involved in the messy, destabilizing process of rebuilding them if they’re truly going to drive growth. This can’t be a neat handoff to IT. It can’t be a lab experiment or a pilot for someone else to run. Why? Simple. Gen AI is challenging what it means to create value, make decisions, and exercise judgment at the highest levels of the enterprise. And if you’re not at least a little unsettled, you may not be close enough to what’s actually changing.

I know this from experience. As a consultant in Accenture’s Talent & Organization practice, I’m being asked not just for help with deploying AI tools, but also—and more importantly—for guidance on how to rethink talent strategy: how teams should work, what “expertise” now means, and what long-standing training models should give way to. And as I have learned, to remain trusted advisors, we have to push ourselves through what we’re asking others to do. What’s more, we have to do it as fast as possible, and continuously, to be sure we keep steering people in the right direction.

Read full report

Living Your Organization’s AI Transformation

Generative AI is not just changing workflows. It is forcing leaders to rethink expertise, trust and how work gets done ...

more

Read Report

Accelerating Business with AI in an Uncertain World

Authors: Kenneth R. Munie, Joon-Seong Lee and Prashant P. Shukla​
Published: September 2025​

Tariff wars are reverberating across sectors, disrupting supply chains, inflating input costs, and triggering volatility in customer demand. Many organizations, particularly those dependent on international sourcing, are now caught between rising costs and eroding margins. Absorbing costs hurts profit margins, while passing them on risks increasing brand switch and churn rates.

This is just one illustration of how fragile and interdependent the global economic system has become. Whether the disruption comes from sanctions, cybersecurity breaches, regulatory shifts, or regional conflicts, the result is the same: instability. The real risk is not a single event but the convergence of many simultaneous disruptions.

Read full report

Accelerating Business with AI in an Uncertain World

In an era of overlapping shocks, a small group of AI front-runners is turning volatility into advantage by embedding AI into core strategy ...

more

Read Report

Shifting gears: How European automakers can survive the EV disruption

Publisher: The European Business Review
Authors: Jeurgen Reers, Marcello Tamietti, Philipp Kupferschmidt, Stefan Hattula, Sheryl Yaping Yu
Published: October 2024

European automakers face rising pressure from Chinese and US EV competitors, particularly outside their home market. While tariffs offer temporary relief, global disruption is accelerating. In China, European OEMs hold just 4% of the EV market versus 87% for local brands. To compete, OEMs must capitalize on heritage branding, perfect manufacturing fundamentals and adopt a software-first, customer-centric mindset. Winning will require agile operations, omni-channel experiences and bold bets in new powertrains. Reinvention— not defense—is key. European OEMs must break down silos, build digital cores and form ecosystem partnerships to redefine global mobility leadership.

Read full report

Shifting gears: How European automakers can survive the EV disruption

European automakers face rising pressure from Chinese and US EV competitors, particularly outside their home market. While tariffs...

more

Read Report

Turn AI into a Force for Responsibility

Authors: Laetitia Caillteau, Philippe Roussiere, Josh Elkind
Published: April 2026

European companies have long treated responsible business as a balance of competitiveness and social purpose. AI now tests that tradition: 98% of surveyed executives see it as a chance to rethink governance, people development and accountability, yet employees are less convinced, with a 20-point trust gap in Europe. There is an opportunity to make responsibility tangible. AI can embed ethics into decisions, support workers’ growth and build adaptive organizations that detect risks earlier. To enable this, leaders must assign accountability, make culture the enabler and get ahead of disruption.

Read full report

Turn AI into a Force for Responsibility

European companies have long treated responsible business as a balance of competitiveness and social purpose. AI now tests that tradition: 98% of surveyed executives...

more

Read Report

How Europe Could Turn Ambient Listening into Competitive Advantage

Authors: Dr. Konstantin Vdovenko, Dr. Katarzyna Byszek-Stevens
Published: May 2026

Europe has a strategic opening to ease pressure on healthcare systems and build the data foundations for more connected care. Ambient listening, which turns clinician–patient conversations into structured EHR notes, is already showing promise: one 2025 study found a 20.4% reduction in note-taking time per appointment and a 30% drop in after-hours “pajama time”. Yet sensitive voice data, bias risks and the EU AI Act make trust essential. The answer is not slower adoption, but responsible implementation. Organisations that combine readiness, workflow integration and patient transparency can give time back to clinicians, improve records and turn Europe’s privacy regime into a competitive advantage.

Read full report

How Europe Could Turn Ambient Listening into Competitive Advantage

Europe has a strategic opening to ease pressure on healthcare systems and build the data foundations for more connected care....

more

Read Report

Europe's Strategic Imperative

Published: April 2026
 Authors: Svenja Falk

In a world shaped by geopolitical tension and rapid innovation, Europe treats technological sovereignty as a strategic necessity. In this article, Svenja Falk and Hans D. Schotten argue that Europe must strengthen autonomy in critical technologies such as microelectronics, AI, quantum computing and advanced manufacturing to protect competitiveness, democratic stability and
resilience. The authors call for Europe to move beyond fragmented efforts and build an integrated approach that combines coordinated governance, targeted investment and aligned innovation priorities. They also emphasize that Europe can pursue sovereignty without turning inward by pairing resilience with continued openness and collaboration in global markets, anchored in democratic, sustainable and human-centric values.

Read full report

Europe's Strategic Imperative

In a world shaped by geopolitical tension and rapid innovation, Europe treats technological sovereignty as a strategic necessity ...

more

Read Report

The New CIO Mandate: Using AI to Bend the Utility Cost Curve

Authors: Debanjan Chakraborty, Miguel Torreira, Jim Mazurek
Published: April 2026

Utility leaders are confronting a convergence of pressures their organizations were never designed to handle. Electrification, regulatory mandates, and the rapid integration of distributed energy resources are challenging long-standing operating models.

At the same time, customer expectations have shifted decisively. Consumers now expect real-time insight into usage, costs, service status, personalized engagement, and digital experiences that resemble those of leading service industries


Read full report

The New CIO Mandate: Using AI to Bend the Utility Cost Curve

Utility leaders are confronting a convergence of pressures their organizations were never designed to handle ...

more

Read Report

Intelligent Industrial Operations Outlook 2026

Authors: Christian Souche, Swati Daphal, Simran Dharmapuram, Amol Ghuge, Jérome Mulin, Pooja Vaidya
Published: April 2026

Industrial operations are crossing a historic threshold into the intelligent age, reshaped by advanced analytics, AI, digital twins and hyperconnected systems. The World Economic Forum's "Intelligent Industrial Operations Outlook 2026," developed with Accenture, highlights a new operational paradigm where systems continuously learn, anticipate change and coordinate autonomously across factories, enterprises and global value networks.

This transformation is driven by eight strategic imperatives, including resilient and circular operations, predictive and collaborative risk management and intelligent ecosystems that optimize real-time decisions. Leaders are urged to prioritize governance for AI-driven decisions, embed cybersecurity by design and enable effective human–machine collaboration to navigate this shift successfully.

Read full report

Intelligent Industrial Operations Outlook 2026

Industrial operations are crossing a historic threshold into the intelligent age, reshaped by advanced analytics, AI, digital twins and hyperconnected systems....

more

Read Report

Quantum for Energy and Utilities:
Key Opportunities for Energy Transition

Authors: Muhammad AlSaiyari, Arunima Sarkar
Published: April 2026

Quantum technologies offer transformative opportunities for the energy and utilities sectors, enabling significant advancements in optimization, security, and materials innovation, crucial for achieving sustainable energy transition goals. The World Economic Forum’s latest report, developed in collaboration with Aramco, identifies key areas including grid optimization, carbon capture, battery and catalyst material discovery, and secure communication as immediate quantum applications. The report emphasizes hybrid quantum-classical approaches to handle optimization complexities, enhance cybersecurity through quantum-safe encryption, and improve resource management with quantum sensing technologies. Organizations are advised to start with low-risk pilots, scale proven solutions responsibly, and embed quantum strategically to enhance operational resilience and efficiency.

Read full report

Quantum for Energy and Utilities

Quantum technologies offer transformative opportunities for the energy and utilities sectors, enabling significant advancements in optimization, security...

more

Read Report

Quantum for Energy and Utilities:
Key Opportunities for Energy Transition

Authors: Muhammad AlSaiyari, Arunima Sarkar
Published: April 2026

Quantum technologies offer transformative opportunities for the energy and utilities sectors, enabling significant advancements in optimization, security, and materials innovation, crucial for achieving sustainable energy transition goals. The World Economic Forum’s latest report, developed in collaboration with Aramco, identifies key areas including grid optimization, carbon capture, battery and catalyst material discovery, and secure communication as immediate quantum applications. The report emphasizes hybrid quantum-classical approaches to handle optimization complexities, enhance cybersecurity through quantum-safe encryption, and improve resource management with quantum sensing technologies. Organizations are advised to start with low-risk pilots, scale proven solutions responsibly, and embed quantum strategically to enhance operational resilience and efficiency.

Read full report

Quantum for Energy and Utilities

Quantum technologies offer transformative opportunities for the energy and utilities sectors, enabling significant advancements in optimization, security...

more

Read Report