Although digitization has long since moved into everyday life, two out of three companies are still struggling with it.

That is the result of a current study by the Andersch management consultancy, in which almost 3000 decision-makers from companies in the 20 leading industrialized countries (G 20) were surveyed.

Exactly two out of three managers agreed with the statement “The company is struggling with digitization”.

In the EU it was 64 percent, in Germany “only” 61 percent - but still a surprising number.

Christoph Schäfer

Responsible editor for economy and finance online.

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Why a company is struggling with digitization can of course only be answered on a case-by-case basis. According to his own statement, Christian Säuberlich, CEO of the Andersch management consultancy, observes two causes time and again: “On the one hand, many companies are overwhelmed by the complexity of digitization, as it extends across all areas and stages of the value chain. Medium-sized companies in particular quickly reach their limits in terms of their management structures and skills. ”On the other hand, digitization requires a different type of leadership. "Agile management has been propagated for years, but in practice it is very often still managed in a traditional hierarchical manner, simply because in the past it was often a principle of success," says Säuberlich. However, companies found it difficult to adapt.

Something else stands out in the survey: Only 17 percent of the companies surveyed in Germany have invested in research and development in the past twelve months - 35 percent worldwide stated this, and 32 percent in the EU.

"As before, innovation and change are not a top priority for German companies," says the restructuring specialist Säuberlich.

"In this survey, too, German companies reaffirm their reputation for being cautious and reactive instead of being innovation drivers."

According to their own statements, the German decision-makers in the past twelve months have relied more on job cuts (28 percent), on restructuring their company (25 percent) and on streamlining their warehousing and supply (20 percent) than on future investments.

Sustainability is not a top goal

The priorities for the near future are also fairly traditional.

When asked "What goals is your company pursuing at full speed in the next twelve months?", 48 percent of German managers answered: Increase profits.

More profit is therefore the most frequently mentioned goal.

Follow this: Increase sales (42 percent) and develop new markets (34 percent).

Far behind at the end of the list: sustainability.

Just one in four managers wants to get involved here at full speed.

In other words: At 24 percent, exactly half as many decision-makers want to work on the well-being of the planet as on the well-being of the company's coffers.

For the "Resilience Barometer 2021" (Resilience Barometer 2021), exactly 2869 decision-makers from companies with an annual turnover of mostly 100 million to 3 billion dollars were asked about current trends and risks for their own business.

73 percent of the participants work for privately owned companies, 27 percent for companies that are listed on the stock exchange.