Companies in the Year 2020

The crisis raging for almost a year in Europe has pointed up the limits of the economic model that has dominated the developed countries for decades. It has usefully shown us that the financial economy cannot remain disconnected from the real economy for a prolonged period. Demands for two-digit profitability, imposed on companies by too many of their shareholders, seem, for example, to have reached the end of the road. In this context and in a world where competition remains very widespread and very fierce and advances in communications technology are revolutionizing both personal and economic exchanges, what will companies look like in 2020?
André-Yves Portnoff, who has operated in the world of business and technology over several decades, proposes a survey of the changes taking place in the environment of organizations, both in France and, more broadly, in Europe. As he stresses, the companies that put short-term interests before the pursuit of a more durable, long-term strategy will probably still retain their positions in some cases. Nevertheless, given the technological and organizational changes arising as a result of the new digital dispensation (and, particularly, its network effects), together with the now widely accepted need to embrace sustainable development, more patient companies that put human relations at the centre of their operations and have a long-term vision will more than ever have a card up their sleeve. Portnoff goes on to propose various strategic pathways promoting a style of management that can guarantee a degree of longevity for companies.