Davos: The end of ‘business as usual’ for global companies
Rising insularity, technological disruption and declining faith in institutions are forcing global companies to rethink how leadership, legitimacy and trust are built at a local level.
Public trust is becoming more local, more conditional and more fragmented, according to the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer released on Tuesday in Davos. The research finds that 70% of people globally are now hesitant or unwilling to trust those who differ from them, a shift that is reshaping attitudes toward global companies, leadership and innovation.
These findings prompted Richard Edelman to observe that "there is no such thing as business as usual," during a panel discussion that brought together business, policy and civil society leaders to debate the implications of a world retreating into what the research calls “insularity”.
Edelman argued that companies have spent the past two years hoping turbulence would pass. Instead, he said, they must now confront this fundamental shift in public expectations. “Business has kept its head down, hoping the storm will pass,” Edelman said. “Today, there is no such thing as business as usual.”
