Changes in trade policy, geopolitical tensions and economic instability are not stopping companies from transforming. On the contrary, as many as 65% of organisations are accelerating the pace of change, while only 17% are reducing or pausing transformation initiatives. At the same time, 60% of senior executives admit that their organisations struggle to turn good ideas into tangible business results, according to KPMG’s global report, Winners Don’t Wait: Transforming with Confidence and Clarity in Volatile Times.
As market conditions deteriorate, most companies are not abandoning transformation. Instead, they are reassessing their plans. Some 39% of organisations have changed the order of their priorities, focusing on initiatives with more predictable returns on investment or lower levels of risk. A further 24% have reduced the number of key initiatives, while 15% have expanded the scope of their programmes or extended transformation timelines. Only 1% of companies have abandoned their transformation plans altogether.
Leadership mindset is crucial to successful transformation
KPMG’s report shows that the success of transformation depends largely on how leaders approach uncertainty, risk and change. Lack of leadership commitment and an unclear strategic vision remain the most frequently cited reasons for failure.
The report’s authors grouped respondents according to their assessment of their company’s prospects and their readiness to deliver transformation. Companies that rated their situation most positively and were also the most prepared to transform were more likely to use external partnerships to scale proven initiatives: 46% of respondents, compared with 37% among companies with pessimistic prospects and low transformation readiness.
As many as 80% of the partnerships identified involved entities from the technology sector. In addition, 46% of organisations in the first group said that, if market conditions improved, their number-one priority would be to accelerate transformation programmes already under way. This compares with 37% of all respondents.
The data show that the challenge is no longer simply recognising the need for transformation, but executing it effectively. As many as 60% of the organisations surveyed report difficulties in implementing change despite having the right ideas and capabilities. A further 17% face obstacles both when initiating transformation and during its subsequent implementation.
Only 4% of respondents pointed to a lack of ideas, skills or opportunities to begin transformation, while 17% said they faced no significant challenges in this area.
The paradox of today’s market is that many companies treat uncertainty as a reason to slow down change, while more mature organisations see it as a catalyst for transformation. It is during periods of greatest volatility that the differences become clear between companies able to make decisions based on data, priorities and a long-term vision, and those focused solely on current results.
This also applies to Poland. Many companies still concentrate on short-term efficiency, cost reduction or isolated technology deployments. However, the experience of recent years shows that such an approach may lead to a loss of competitiveness. More and more organisations are investing in data, automation and AI, but the challenge remains the effective execution of change. What is missing is a coherent transformation-management model and clearly defined priorities linked to business value and customer needs.
“Many companies in Poland still focus on short-term efficiency, cost reduction or one-off technology implementations. Yet the experience of recent years shows that this approach can lead to a loss of competitiveness. More and more organisations are investing in data, automation and AI, but the challenge remains the effective execution of change. There is a lack of a coherent transformation management model and clearly defined priorities linked to business value and customer needs,” says Maciej Bałabanow, CFA, Associate Partner in Advisory and Head of Strategy at KPMG in Poland.
How organisations would respond to better market conditions
If market conditions improve, most companies plan to accelerate transformation. One-third of respondents, or 33%, say they would first increase their overall transformation budget, while 22% would focus on larger investments in digital and technology platforms.
Another 18% of organisations would shift funds from other business areas to transformation projects. Far fewer companies plan to prioritise higher spending on external partners, at 9%, the development of internal team capabilities, at 7%, or increased mergers and acquisitions activity to accelerate transformation, also at 7%.
Only 5% of respondents say they would maintain their current level of investment.
At present, most organisations are keeping transformation initiatives in a state of readiness: 25% are at the pilot stage and 39% are in the scaling phase. Companies that are actively pursuing transformation are building partner ecosystems, implementing proven solutions and jointly developing capabilities. More cautious organisations, by contrast, are moving away from external cooperation, bringing capabilities in-house or putting initiatives on hold.
“Organisations worth following are moving away from a project-based approach towards managing an entire transformation portfolio. They combine modernisation with the development of future capabilities and use AI to improve efficiency and accelerate decision-making. A cultural approach is key: transformation should be treated not as a one-off project, but as a lasting organisational capability,” says Maciej Bałabanow, CFA, Associate Partner in Advisory and Head of Strategy at KPMG in Poland.
About the report
The Unsticking Transformation Survey, which forms the basis of the Winners Don’t Wait: Transforming with Confidence and Clarity in Volatile Times report, was conducted by KPMG in June 2025.
The survey involved 400 respondents representing US companies across six main sectors: financial services; technology, media and telecommunications; energy, natural resources and chemicals; healthcare and life sciences; retail and consumer goods; and industrial manufacturing.
Participants represented a range of organisation types and sizes, with annual revenues from USD 1 billion to more than USD 100 billion. Publicly listed companies accounted for 65% of the sample. Most respondents held senior leadership positions: 64% were C-suite executives, while the remainder held other senior roles, typically involved in transformation programmes, with strong representation from technology, IT and operations functions.
The research focused on transformation involving digital and technology initiatives, enterprise transformation and operational performance improvement. Its purpose was to understand how companies responded to periods of high volatility and recovered afterwards, with particular emphasis on the COVID-19 pandemic.
