Business Radar 2024 Understanding the businesses that drive Australia’s economy
Pitcher Partners Business Radar canvasses the trends, challenges and opportunities experienced by Australia’s middle market businesses. Independently commissioned, our most recent snapshot was conducted in February 2024 and surveyed over 150 business owners and leaders.
This is the first in this year’s series that deep dives into business leaders’ confidence, considering their organisation, their industry and the economy as a whole. It also delves into the topic of productivity – supposedly a critical challenge for the Australian economy, but is it really?
Key findings
- A dipping of overall confidence may be resettling after unexpected heights of 2023.
- The confidence boost of strong demand is tempered by the increased cost of doing business.
- Australia’s middle market may not be as challenged by productivity issues as the wider economy.
You can also catch up on key insights into business resilience, generative AI and cybersecurity, gathered in our Business Radar surveys in October, June and February 2023.
Read on to learn how you can proactively address these challenges and ensure your business continues to thrive or access a PDF version here.
Business confidence
A return to ‘normality’ sees confidence resettle after 2023 peaks
The last four years have been a rollercoaster of a ride – conditions that usually set business owners on edge.
In this snapshot, confidence continues dipping from those unexpected heights in 2023. Perhaps a sign of things settling down rather than worsening – we might be coming out of the upheaval of unprecedented events and back to something closer to stability.
As this gentle downward trend continues, it won’t be surprising to see confidence numbers dip more over the coming year. Time will tell if this represents a resettling after the highs of 2023 or a sign of coming woe.
So, what’s causing to this erosion of confidence?
Take a closer look at the full Business Radar report to and find out:
- Why do Aussies keep backing themselves to grow?
- Which external factors are driving business confidence?
- Why is strong leadership more important than ever?
The pressures of productivity
Productivity shifts
In our latest survey of middle market businesses, we found a surprising overall increase in reported productivity.
Almost two thirds of the middle market businesses reported that, their business operations were more productive than they were two years ago.
Despite the generally positive view on productivity gains, middle market business leaders are worried. What are driving these concerns?
Read the full report here and find out:
- What factors have most impacted businesses productivity.
- The key areas of prioritisation to improve productivity.
- What the middle market can do to move the needle.
Meet our middle market businesses
This report defines middle market businesses as typically employing 20–200 people with annual revenue of $2–$500 million. While their operating models, sizes and industries vary widely, these businesses can be categorised into four lifecycle stages.
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