What This Report Covers
Geopolitics, Governance, and AI Are Reshaping the Corporate Affairs Agenda
The seventh annual Oxford-GlobeScan Global Corporate Affairs Survey explores the priorities, challenges, and opportunities facing Corporate Affairs professionals around the world. Based on insights from 294 senior practitioners across 51 countries, the research reveals rising geopolitical and reputational risks, the growing influence of AI, and the increasing strategic importance of Corporate Affairs. It also highlights a growing consensus that Corporate Affairs must evolve to help organizations navigate an increasingly complex and volatile operating environment.
Key Insights:
- Geopolitical and geoeconomic risks dominate the agenda: Geopolitical risk remains the top concern, while tariffs, supply chains, and economic uncertainty elevate the importance of geoeconomics.
- AI presents both opportunity and risk: AI is viewed as the greatest business opportunity, but preparedness for AI-driven misinformation remains low.
- Governance emerges as the leading reputational challenge: Governance has overtaken environmental and social issues as the most significant ESG-related reputational risk.
- Corporate Affairs is becoming more strategic: The function is increasingly recognized for its role in managing risk, protecting reputation, and creating business value.
- Corporate Affairs must evolve to remain effective: Senior practitioners highlight the need for clearer strategy, stronger capabilities, and better measurement of impact.
Together, these findings highlight how the Corporate Affairs function is evolving in response to a more complex and volatile operating environment. As organizations navigate geopolitical uncertainty, technological disruption, and shifting stakeholder expectations, Corporate Affairs is playing an increasingly strategic role in creating business value and building resilience.
Read Previous Year’s Reports
- Oxford-GlobeScan Global Corporate Affairs Survey 2025
- Oxford-GlobeScan Global Corporate Affairs Survey 2024
- Oxford-GlobeScan Global Corporate Affairs Survey 2023
The annual Oxford-GlobeScan Global Corporate Affairs Survey provides a unique perspective on the evolving Corporate Affairs agenda. Conducted in partnership between the Corporate Affairs Academy at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School and GlobeScan, the research captures insights from senior Corporate Affairs, Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, Corporate Responsibility, and Community Engagement professionals worldwide. The 2026 survey includes responses from 294 practitioners representing 51 countries and a broad range of sectors.
The Centre for Corporate Reputation is an independent research centre within Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. The Centre aims to understand how the reputations of organisations are created, sustained, enhanced, destroyed and rehabilitated.
Run by the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation, the aim of the Corporate Affairs Academy is to enable corporate affairs professionals to make a more strategic and valuable contribution to their business by providing an opportunity to connect with the latest academic research in the field and share experiences, ideas and best practice with expert faculty and a global peer group of Corporate Affairs Directors.
Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford is an innovative and vibrant business school embedded within a 900‑year‑old university, and home to QS’s highest ranking Executive MBA in the world. Educating global business leaders, change makers and innovators across every industry and sector through accredited degrees, diplomas for undergraduates and postgraduates and in-person and online Executive Education programmes. In its thirtieth year, Oxford Saïd consistently delivers ground-breaking research and exceptional teaching, creating impact from within.
