Morrison Foerster and Ethisphere Survey Finds Senior Executives Are Becoming More Proactive in Crisis Response

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 18, 2023) – Morrison Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to present the 2023 Global Crisis Management Benchmarking Report, which was conducted in partnership with the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

Combined with data from the 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies dataset, the report builds on the information collected from our previous 2018 survey of 250 senior executives in ethics, legal, compliance, public relations, communications, and risk functions, from public and private companies and nonprofits around the world. The survey included questions about crisis management programs, structure, employee communications, training in a hybrid environment, and cross-company collaboration.

“When crisis strikes, the organizations that have fared best are those that anticipate the issues around the corner and have a plan to respond,” said Alex Iftimie, co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Global Risk + Crisis Management Group. “The range of risks to organizations is daunting, but the playbook for response often boils down to a set of core principles. Thinking through these issues today is the best way for organizations to ensure that they are resilient in the face of a crisis.”

Some key findings from the survey include:

• Cyber breaches, workplace violence or harassment, and environmental damage are the three most cited sources of crises among survey respondents;
• Most respondents reported recently facing geopolitical and related regulatory risks, noting tension and activity in Russia and China;
• Crisis management planning and processes are a collaborative effort, with the survey reaffirming a key pillar to crisis response: the ways companies respond to crises are vital, and the effectiveness of those responses depends on creating and implementing proper crisis management processes and procedures; and
• Crisis response drills are an effective way to prepare an organization for crisis management, with 79% of survey respondents indicating that they conduct crisis response drills in key risk areas, and 95% stating that they conduct them annually or more frequently.

“Global companies face global risks, and right now countries around the world are adopting regulations and sanctions that make the global marketplace increasingly challenging to navigate,” said Brandon Van Grack, co-chair of the firm’s National Security and Global Risk + Crisis Management Groups. “It’s important that companies understand where they are most vulnerable to those risks and regulations, and that they are prepared to navigate the next conflict or geopolitical crisis.”

View the Crisis Management Benchmarking Report for the full survey results and additional insights.

Methodology

Morrison Foerster and Ethisphere partnered to create the 2023 Crisis Management Benchmarking Report conducting an online survey of senior-level executives working in ethics, compliance, risk management, and other fields related to crisis management. Survey responses were collected in the fall of 2022 and January 2023.

Combined with data from the 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies dataset, this report builds off information collected from our previous 2018 survey of 250 senior executives in ethics, legal, compliance, public relations and communications, and risk functions from both public and private companies and non-profits across the globe. Respondents were not required to answer every question. More than half (60%) of organizations were headquartered in the United States, followed by Asia Pacific and South Asia (20%) and Northern Europe (20%). The median worldwide revenue for respondent organizations was $1 billion to $5 billion. This was a self-reported survey from Morrison Foerster and Ethisphere’s audience of ethics and compliance professionals.