The results also showed that almost two-thirds (63%) of CEOs surveyed believe their teams have the skills and knowledge to integrate generative AI. But few understand how the adoption of generative AI will impact their organization’s workforce and culture. More than half (56%) of respondents have not yet assessed the impact of generative AI on their employees. In a global comparison, Germany falls behind, with 64% having not yet assessed the impact. Switzerland, on the other hand, leads the field. Here, only 46% of CEOs stated that they had not yet made an assessment.
However, 51% of CEOs surveyed worldwide say that they are filling positions for generative AI that did not exist last year. In Germany, 46% of respondents agreed with this question. In Switzerland, the dynamic was higher with 58% of CEOs agreeing with this question. Globally, 47% expect to reduce or redeploy staff in the next 12 months due to generative AI. While only 42% of the German CEOs surveyed expect to reduce or redeploy staff, 62% of Swiss CEOs do. This is the second highest figure globally, with Saudi Arabia (63%) in first place.
“The enthusiasm for generative AI is incredibly high, and CEOs want to go beyond the AI hype to achieve business impact. But without the right people and culture, progress will be slow,” said Matt Candy, Global Managing Partner, IBM Consulting. “When integrating generative AI into their business strategy, it’s important that leaders build an attitude and culture that encourages adoption and guides people through the changes.”
Other key findings of the study include:
Workforce pressures from the adoption of generative AI
– 40% of CEOs surveyed plan to hire additional employees due to generative AI. While expectations in Germany (40%) are exactly in line with the global average, Switzerland stands out with 48% positive responses – the highest figure in Europe.
– Nevertheless, more than half (53%) of those surveyed stated that they are already struggling to fill key technology positions. German (53%) and Swiss CEOs (54%) face the same challenges here as their global counterparts.
– CEOs worldwide say that 35% of their employees will need retraining and reskilling in the next three years – compared to just 6% in 2021. With 37% agreement each, German and Swiss respondents are again around the global average.
CEOs recognize that successful AI scaling requires cultural change – but they face barriers to collaboration and adoption across the organization
– 65% of CEOs surveyed say their company’s success is directly dependent on the quality of collaboration between the finance and technology departments. With 66% agreement, Germany and Switzerland are also close to the international average here. Almost half (48%) of the international and Swiss CEOs surveyed think that competition among their managers sometimes hinders collaboration. German boardrooms appear to be slightly less competitive, with only 44% of all respondents sharing this view.
– Most CEOs (81%) say that inspiring their team with a shared vision leads to better results. At the same time, 37% feel that their employees do not fully understand how strategic decisions affect them. Swiss CEOs see an even bigger gap in employee understanding of these impacts (48%), while German CEOs are slightly more positive about their workforce’s understanding of this (32%)
– 57% of respondents recognize that cultural change is more important than overcoming technical challenges to become a data-driven company. The data for Germany and Switzerland corresponds exactly to the international average of 57%.
– CEOs see the introduction of generative AI as crucial to success. However, almost two thirds (64%) of the CEOs surveyed worldwide believe that their company must use technologies that are developing faster than people can adapt. The pressure seems to be even greater among German and Swiss CEOs: German (71%) and Swiss (80%) CEOs say they need to switch to new technologies quickly, even if their employees still need to catch up. Swiss respondents lead the world in this regard.
CEOs state that the benefits of rapid technology adoption outweigh potential risks
– More than two thirds (68%) of CEOs surveyed agree that governance for generative AI must be established during the development of solutions and not after implementation. At 71%, German CEOs saw an even greater urgency to ensure governance at the time of introduction .
o 75% of CEOs surveyed worldwide say that trustworthy AI is impossible in their company without effective AI governance (78% in Germany). Despite this, only 39% of them state that they already have good generative AI governance in place. In Germany, this assessment was slightly lower with 33% positive responses.
– At the same time, 62% of participants (also 62% in Switzerland, 66% in Germany) said that they would take more risks than the competition in order to benefit from competitive advantages. Half (51%) agree that the risk of falling behind leads them to invest in some technologies before they have a clear understanding of the value. At 48% and 50% respectively, German and Swiss respondents are again close to the international average.
o 67% of CEOs surveyed say that the productivity gains from automation are large. They therefore accept considerable risks in order to remain competitive. While Swiss CEOs are somewhat more cautious here (62%), German CEOs (71%) are even slightly more risk-oriented than the global average.
o Today, 71% of the CEOs surveyed internationally still state that they cannot get beyond generative AI pilot projects and experiments (Germany 82%). However, 49% assume that AI will fuel growth and expansion by 2026. German CEOs were significantly more skeptical here – only 37% expect AI to drive growth and expansion by 2026, 22% less than the global average.
Product and service innovation is a top priority, but a focus on short-term goals could hinder long-term progress
– CEOs ranked innovation in products and services as a top priority for the next three years – up from sixth place in 2023. German CEOs also ranked product and service innovation as a top priority, while Swiss CEOs put cybersecurity and data protection as well as technical modernization at the top of their agenda.
– Globally, 41% of respondents are willing to sacrifice operational efficiency for more innovation. By contrast, 63% of German CEOs say they are not willing to do so.
– However, CEOs say that focusing on short-term improvements is the biggest obstacle to innovation. While this is true for 44% of all global and German CEOs, only 40% of all Swiss CEOs agreed. The biggest concern of Swiss CEOs is regulatory restrictions, as 54% of all respondents said.
– Today, only 36% of CEOs surveyed are primarily financing their investments in generative AI with additional IT budgets. The remaining 64% are reducing spending on other technologies. In Germany, additional IT investments in generative AI are slightly above the international average at 39%.
The full study, including actionable strategies to help companies manage the complexity of generative AI, can be found at: https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/en-us/c-suite-study/ceo
Study methodology
The IBM Institute for Business Value, in collaboration with Oxford Economics, conducted interviews with 3,000 CEOs from over 30 countries and 26 industries from December 2023 to April 2024 as part of the 29th edition of the IBM C-Suite Study series. These interviews focused on business priorities, leadership, technology, talent, partnerships, regulation, industry change and business transformation.
The IBM Institute for Business Value, IBM’s thought leadership think tank, combines global research and performance data with the expertise of industry experts and leading academics to provide insights that enable executives to make better decisions.
Information about IBM
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