In an era of rising economic nationalism and intensifying rivalries, leaders of businesses with extensive cross-border operations must sharpen their capacity to track and assess geopolitical dynamics – their so-called geopolitical radar.

Based on in-depth interviews with 25 multinational companies, this white paper explores the extent to which international businesses are developing and deploying not only their geopolitical radar, but also their geopolitical sonar, to provide additional context on the drivers underlying geopolitical events.

There is a strong link between geopolitics and international trade, investment, innovation and the movement of data, people and ideas across borders. This report – the second in a series of three produced in collaboration with IMD Business School and Boston Consulting Group – seeks to identify opportunities as well as risks, by highlighting a set of six “payoffs” to international business from better navigating geopolitical currents.