Key Takeaways
- Societal expectations for purposeful leadership are anticipated to rise. Four in five Corporate Affairs practitioners believe societal expectations for purposeful organizational leadership will be higher three years from now, including 36 percent who anticipate expectations to be significantly higher.
- Expectations are anticipated to rise most sharply in the Global South. Respondents in South America (43%) and Africa (42%) are most likely to anticipate significantly higher expectations for purposeful leadership, indicating that pressure on organizations to demonstrate broader societal value is expected to remain particularly strong in these regions.
- Purpose isn’t going away as a leadership challenge. Meeting growing stakeholder expectations will require Corporate Affairs to play a stronger role in helping organizations navigate purpose in ways that are grounded, credible, and resilient to political and reputational risk.
Why Corporate Affairs Practitioners Anticipate Rising Societal Expectations for Purposeful Organizational Leadership
The Oxford-GlobeScan Global Corporate Affairs Survey report 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 highlights a growing consensus that the function must evolve to help organizations navigate an increasingly complex and volatile operating environment. Corporate Affairs practitioners believe that despite organizations becoming more cautious about discussing purpose and sustainability in a polarized environment, stakeholder expectations for purposeful leadership will likely increase rather than decrease over the next three years.
When asked how societal expectations for purposeful organizational leadership are likely to evolve, 80 percent of Corporate Affairs practitioners anticipate expectations to become higher, including 36 percent who believe they will be significantly higher and a further 44 percent who expect them to be somewhat higher. Very few anticipate expectations declining.
Expectations of a significant increase are particularly common among practitioners in South America (43%) and Africa (42%). These results suggest that, in the view of Corporate Affairs practitioners, external expectations for business leadership on societal issues are unlikely to weaken in the near term. Rather, respondents anticipate a future in which stakeholders continue to place increasing demands on organizations to demonstrate leadership, accountability, and societal relevance, even as the external environment becomes more challenging and contested.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
While the environment for discussing and engaging on purpose-related issues may be becoming more challenging, respondents generally anticipate stakeholder expectations to continue moving in the opposite direction. For Corporate Affairs leaders, this suggests that purpose is not going away as a leadership challenge. This highlights the importance of helping organizations approach purpose in ways that are credible, practical, and closely connected to business strategy. As societal expectations evolve, success is likely to depend less on broad statements of intent and more on demonstrating purpose through business decisions, organizational behavior, and tangible outcomes.
The results also reinforce a broader conclusion from the survey: as societal expectations continue to rise, Corporate Affairs is increasingly expected to help shape business strategy, not simply communicate it. This places greater importance on strong alignment with CEOs, Boards, and executive leadership teams, enabling Corporate Affairs to bring external perspectives into strategic decision-making and help organizations respond effectively to a rapidly changing operating environment.
Survey Question: In three years from now, how do you think societal expectations for purposeful organizational leadership will change?
