Despite the meltdown in the financial markets, companies combining long-range strategic planning with nimble execution can still, by far, outperform the competition, according to a new study by a leading management consultancy firm.

The 25 companies in the A T Kearney Global Champions 2009, identified from the world’s 2,500 largest companies operating internationally, dramatically outperformed their peers during the five years ending with the stock market crash, averaging nearly 15 per cent growth annually from 2004 through 2008, while the average for the entire sample was an 8 per cent loss.

“The financial crisis has greatly accelerated the rate of change in underlying global business conditions,” said Dr Dirk Buchta, partner and managing director, A T  Kearney Middle East.

“Companies that were able to align a disciplined growth-oriented strategy to the transformed economic landscape were the ones that dominated.”

Companies like first-ranking Nintendo and third-ranking Apple are able to satisfy new consumer demands for a simpler, yet more fulfilled lifestyle. Incidentally, this is a trend we picked up pre-crisis and is manifesting itself in the demand for technologically sophisticated, yet simple to use, products.

And businesses, like fourth-ranking Doosan have been able to capitalise on government mandates globally, to rebuild infrastructure.

Paul Laudicina, chairman and managing officer of A T Kearney globally observed that bigger was not necessarily better.

“The analysis shows that neither size nor market position is a necessary pre-condition for superior growth or a protection against market turbulence. Instead, the themes that emerge include an in-depth understanding of what the market needed at a particular time, an extraordinary ability to plan beyond the immediate environment, and a relentless focus on flawless execution.”

The companies represent industries from electronics to heavy equipment, with no single industry sector dominant, a stark contrast to the 2008 version of the study when the end of the 'supercycle' in commodities buoyed the natural resources industry. The return to fundamentals precipitated by the recession led to a shifting geographic make-up of the list.

While companies such as Mexico’s America Movil and India’s Reliance Industries are two of only seven companies that managed to maintain their status as Global Champions, the proportion of companies headquartered in  emerging countries has dropped from 40 per cent in 2008 to less than a third in 2009.

Dr Buchta pointed out that 20 per cent of the Global Champions are on the World Dow Jones Sustainability Index and fully 40 per cent have signed the UN Global Compact, compared to 30 per cent of the Global 500.

“This list is yet another demonstration that sustainability is not in conflict with, or independent of, business success. Rather, a focus on sustainability is a sign that the company is looking well beyond the horizon.”-TradeArabia News Service