PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) conducted a survey gauging the perceptions of Indonesian company leaders, or chief executive officers (CEOs), regarding factors hindering business development. Development here refers to business innovation and how companies deliver or achieve value.
The most significant impediment to business development, cited by 75% of Indonesian CEO respondents, was the regulatory climate. PwC noted that this complex regulatory environment is beyond their control. On average, Indonesian-based CEOs felt more pressured by this factor than their global and Asia-Pacific counterparts.
In addition, a lack of technological capabilities within their companies was selected by 63% of respondents.
Other factors affecting business development included prioritization challenges, infrastructure challenges, internal bureaucratic processes, funding sources, and a lack of support.
These factors were selected based on the following levels of impact: to a moderate extent; to a large extent; and to a very large extent.
PwC conducted this survey as part of its 27th Annual Global CEO Survey from October to November 2023, with the results released on January 15, 2024. The survey targeted 4,702 CEOs globally, including 1,774 from the Asia-Pacific region.
The regions covered included Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The following is a complete list of factors hindering business development according to Indonesian CEOs:
- Regulatory environtment: 75%
- Lack of technological capabilities within my company: 63%
- Competing operational priorities: 61%
- Lack of skills in my company's workforce: 61%
- Infrastructure challenges (e.g., electricity grid capacity, connectivity limitations): 56%
- Supply chain instability: 52%
- Bureaucratic processes within my company: 49%
- Lack of support from internal stakeholders: 49%
- Limited financial resources (e.g., insufficient cash flow, difficulty securing capital): 48%
- Lack of support from the board of directors: 40%.
(Read: Indonesia's Number of Entrepreneurs Increases at the Start of 2025, a New Record High)