Study
Shows Overseas Business Executives Often Unprepared for Political Challenges
Washington, D.C., May 12 - Corporate executives running business operations in foreign countries often face huge political challenges but have little or no training in public affairs, according to findings in the 2010-2011 International Public Affairs Benchmarking Report.
The report, published by the Public Affairs Council, also finds the ability of global public affairs professionals to affect public policy varies tremendously around the world. Some policy issues - such as trade and taxation - are rated highly important, yet companies feel they have little influence on governmental decisions on those issues in most countries.
Among the toughest markets for public affairs professionals are South Korea, Argentina and India. While none of the 10 countries or regions examined makes life easy for those who try to influence policy, respondents report higher effectiveness on five key issues in the European Union and Canada.
These same practitioners indicate their chief challenges when working abroad include: winning support from foreign governments; gaining access to foreign government officials; managing foreign regulatory practices; finding local talent; and working with lean budgets that force them to focus on a limited number of countries and manage a small staff.
The study also finds that the use of different public affairs strategies - including lobbying, media outreach, corporate responsibility and social networking - varies widely. Corporate responsibility programs are implemented most often in Mexico, China and India, for example, but are less common in Japan. Coalitions are common in the European Union, but are rare in Russia.
"One of the survey's most important findings is that while country managers often are responsible for international public affairs, they frequently have no training in company-specific issues or even in how the government where they are located works," said Adam Korengold, the Council's director of research and consulting services. "These data show the need for executives to understand political trends and how to manage external relationships with stakeholders. They'd benefit from working closely with corporate public affairs staff and taking coursework or training in public affairs management."
The report - which surveyed 61 public affairs executives during the spring and summer of 2010 - includes nine key findings describing the challenges companies face in managing global public affairs. Surveyed companies reported estimated annual revenue ranging from $1.6 billion to $297 billion and employment ranging from 3,700 to 324,600 people.
Key research findings from the study may be downloaded free-of-charge from the Council's website here. The complete report is available here.
The Public Affairs Council (www.pac.org) is the leading international association for public affairs executives and managers. The Council is both non-partisan and non-political.
Contact: Adam Korengold: (202) 721-0903; email.
