PwC: More than a third of Romanian CEOs believe their company’s business model needs to be reinvented to survive in the next decade

The percentage of Romanian CEOs who believe their organisations will need to reinvent their business model to survive in the next decade has risen to 37 percent this year, up from 27 percent in the previous edition of the PwC CEO Survey.

The vast majority (80 percent) cited technology as a key driver of change over the past five years, with 74 percent citing changes in consumer behaviour and 68 percent citing government regulation.

“The conclusion of our survey is that in order to remain viable and profitable in ten years’ time, Romanian companies, like those worldwide, will have to continue the process of reinvention forced by technological and regulatory changes. More and more CEOs are aware of the need for change and are already taking steps in this direction by developing new products and services, adopting new technologies and entering strategic partnerships to improve capabilities,” says Dinu Bumbăcea, Country Managing Partner, PwC Romania.

On the other hand, more than two-thirds (69 percent) of Romanian CEOs say the regulatory environment is an obstacle to reinventing their business model, 58 percent point to a lack of skills in their company’s workforce, 53 percent to a lack of technology and 49 percent to supply chain instability.

The right actions for each company are different, depending on its strategy, operating model, industry context and competitive landscape. CEOs need to have a clear understanding of how businesses, projects or other investments create value and be prepared to make tough decisions, whether it’s reallocating resources between activities or resizing them. Agile resource allocation is a recognised attribute of high-performing and profitable companies, and therefore, at least to some extent, necessary for business model reinvention,” says Dinu Bumbăcea.

According to the survey, 53 percent of Romanian executives report a reallocation of resources (financial and human) of more than 10 percent from one year to the next.

Main findings of the report:

• 37 percent of Romanian CEOs expect the economy to grow this year, compared with 26 percent in 2023. As a result, the proportion of those expecting the economy to decline has fallen from 62 percent to 47 percent.
• Romanian CEOs’ concerns for the year ahead remain inflation, macroeconomic volatility, and geopolitical conflicts.
• 37 percent say they are very or extremely confident about their company’s revenue growth prospects over the next 12 months, compared to 52 percent in 2023, and 30 percent expect a decline.
• 61 percent believe that technological innovation will change the business model to a great or very great extent over the next three years.
• For example, 53 percent believe that Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) will significantly change the way companies do business and increase competition over the next three years.
• 65 percent say their organisation is taking steps to improve energy efficiency.
• 41 percent plan to make at least one purchase in the next three years.