According to a new report from Dun & Bradstreet, surveyed business leaders from around the world also cite weakening user demand (25%), cyber security (24%), higher taxes (24%) and access to talent (20%) as other big challenges for 2023 .

LONDON – (March 21, 2023): Almost half (43 %) of the business leaders surveyed in the world still see the increase in energy prices as the biggest challenge this year, despite all the efforts of Western countries to introduce restrictions on energy consumption during the winter months and to manage inflation.

According to Dun & Bradstreet's report published today entitled 'Data Driven Resilience: How to Grow When Facing an Uncertain Future' - which surveyed 3,396 business leaders in 18 countries - concern about the increase in energy prices is most felt in Europe, led by Poland, where 60% of respondents see it as the biggest challenge at a time when the continent is facing even greater economic difficulties. However, in the United States, that mark has dropped sharply to a quarter (27%), possibly because the country relies on its own energy supply.

By comparison, overall increases in business costs are expected to have a major impact on more than a third (37%) of companies surveyed in 2023, as the world continues to recover from economic losses following the pandemic.

Although the survey found that 27% of managers rated the company's business resilience during difficult times as "exceptional", given the ongoing economic uncertainty, it is necessary for more companies to develop a higher level of resilience in order to remain competitive and improve their position for growth and innovation. . With this in mind, it is worrying to see that 85% of companies are currently not using data to understand changes in their environment.