Oxford-GlobeScan Corporate Affairs Survey 2026 Webinar

Key Survey Findings and Webinar Discussion Insights

The Corporate Affairs Academy at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and GlobeScan recently hosted a webinar to share high-level findings from the Oxford-GlobeScan Corporate Affairs Survey 2026.

The webinar was hosted by Rupert Younger, Director of the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation, Stewart Prosser, Associate Director at the Saïd Business School’s Academy for Corporate Affairs and Chris Coulter, CEO of GlobeScan. They were joined by Krista Pilot, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications at AT&T and Jonathan Hirasawa Ashton, Head of Marketing and Communications, Middle East and Africa, KROHNE Group.

Key findings shared: 

• Corporate affairs leaders are seeing a fundamental shift from geopolitics to geoeconomics, with geopolitical concerns increasingly translating into tangible economic pressures for business. While anxiety around tariffs has eased somewhat, the business impact of AI is now being felt more immediately.
• AI is moving beyond experimentation and “wordsmithing” to become a core driver of business intelligence, innovation, and efficiency. At the same time, organisations are grappling with readiness challenges, internal transformation demands, and growing risks linked to misuse or external infiltration.
• Governance of geoeconomic factors is emerging as one of the most significant reputational risks and opportunities facing organisations, placing corporate affairs at the centre of strategic coordination, risk management, and response.

Key learning shared by the panel: 

• AI as a Strategic Corporate Affairs Issue: Panelists emphasized that AI now affects corporate affairs on multiple fronts, including business transformation, information accuracy, and reputation management. Corporate affairs functions must develop the capability to address AI simultaneously as an operational enabler and a source of strategic risk.
• Cybersecurity and Misinformation as Core Reputation Challenges: Panelists framed cybersecurity, data protection, and misinformation as enterprise‑level reputation risks rather than technical issues alone. Corporate affairs teams were urged to work closely with cybersecurity and legal functions to anticipate incidents and communicate swiftly and credibly when trust is under threat.
• Employees as the First Trust Test: The discussion underscored the central role of employees in shaping corporate reputation. Maintaining ongoing internal dialogue, transparency, and alignment was described as essential, with the warning that organizations lose credibility quickly once employees disengage or publicly oppose corporate decisions.
• Shift Toward Relationship‑Led Stakeholder Engagement: Panelists emphasized a move away from mass communication toward more tailored, relationship‑driven engagement. One‑to‑one stakeholder interactions, internal network building, and acting as a broker across functions were seen as critical capabilities in navigating political, economic, and social complexity.

Watch the webinar recording