By Mauro Macchi, Dominic King, Ladan Davarzani

Adapting to change is a long-standing European strength—evident in everything from art and science to industry and institutions. But in an era of relentless disruption, European companies must blend tradition with speed by building agile operations, nurturing AI-ready talent, and scaling tech capabilities. Only by embedding resilience into your reinvention can Europe compete—and lead—on its own terms.

Europe is often called the ‘Old Continent’. This underscores our rich historical, cultural and institutional tradition of reinvention: from The Enlightenment and The Industrial Revolution to French cuisine and Italian art. But it also inspires less flattering connotations of a region that has been slow to adopt new technologies, lost its entrepreneurial zeal and been surpassed by the US and China.

The onus is on business leaders to forge a path between the past and the future, to reinvent for competitiveness without undermining their heritage.

Today, as global volatility accelerates, the onus is on business leaders to forge a path between the past and the future; to reinvent for future competitiveness without undermining their heritage. However, there is readiness gap. While 82% of European executives say they expect change to accelerate in 2026 (vs. 2025), only one-third (37%) feel fully prepared to respond to geopolitical (37%), economic (44%) and talent (52%) disruption.

European resilience is strong—but is not yet driving reinvention

Europe’s companies have shown impressive staying power. According to the third edition of our proprietary Resilience Index, they’ve strengthened financial and operational fundamentals and continue to lead globally on embedding sustainability across their organisations. Given the strong link between resilience and growth, this bodes well for European competitiveness.

However, this resilience is imbalanced. European companies have fallen behind in three critical areas: operational agility, talent readiness, and technological scale. These gaps threaten to dampen regional growth prospects and demand bold action.

Build operations that flex, not fracture

Persistent challenges, such as rising geopolitical complexity, a difficult macroenvironment and ongoing supply chain disruptions have exposed the limits of Europe’s operational models. Indeed, the ability of our businesses to manage risk and cost pressures has deteriorated faster than in other regions.

Farsighted companies are adapting: 63% identify improving forecasting, scenario planning, and risk management as a top priority. But agility remains limited: only 22% are using AI to completely redesign processes, presenting a major untapped opportunity for efficiency gains across the region.

What to do differently:

• Treat volatility as a design principle, not a problem
• Use AI and digital twins to reconfigure core processes, such as supply chains and manufacturing operations
• Build cross-functional, modular operating models that enable rapid scaling and redeployment of capabilities

Accelerate AI skilling before the workforce falls behind

Most European execs (90%) expect employee roles and responsibilities to change moderately or significantly due to AI implementation in 2026. However, just 30 % say their organization has embedded continuous learning related to new tech adoption.

Rigid learning systems, static job models and outdated skill assumptions are holding Europe back. Sharp post-pandemic rises in employee turnover and open vacancies have not been reversed—and are particularly concerning for Europe given ageing populations.

What to do differently:

• Get comfortable with humans and AI learning together through continuous co-learning
• Build AI literacy, flexibility, and autonomy across the workforce
• Redesign roles and success metrics to drive workforce augmentation alongside automation, and to raise human potential

Double down—and scale up—on technology

European companies are investing more in technology but not scaling fast enough. While 90% of execs in the region believe tech advancements positively impacted their organization’s resilience in 2025, the gap in areas such as AI, cyber and tech talent compared to the US remain wide.

The adoption and diffusion of AI, for example, remains tepid. While 84% of European execs plan to increase investments in AI in 2026 (vs. 2025) – more than half (56%) have yet to scale a major AI investment. Europe’s long tail of smaller companies is even further behind.

What to do differently:

• Pursue dynamic adaptability – beyond reliability, to a tech stack that flexes and scales securely under stress, and responds and optimises in real time
• Develop a strategic technology partner ecosystem to rapidly scale your innovations
• Build executive ownership and accountability for technology-driven transformation

Reinventing the European Way

The challenges facing European business leaders remain daunting—and the temptation to simply hedge against volatility is strong. But the path to competitiveness lies in doing the opposite: leaning into disruption as a catalyst for reinvention. Organisations can strengthen performance by diversifying supply chains, adapting products and services, and judiciously employing automation and augmentation to boost productivity. And all the while protecting every facet of their distinctive heritage, from brand and IP to people and purpose.

Rigid learning systems, static job models, and outdated skill assumptions are holding Europe back.

Europe must now strike a better balance between risk and opportunity. Today, the average European worker produces just 76% as much as their American counterpart, down from parity in 1996. If productivity remains stagnant, then one or all of our economic, geopolitical, social and environmental ambitions will have to be scaled back. As the EU Competitiveness Compass reminds us: “Europe’s competitiveness and what Europe stands for are inseparable.”

The choice is not between old and new but rather how to fuse them. By approaching resilience not as a static safeguard, but rather as a dynamic, evolving capability that can build long-term, profitable growth, Europe can transform its heritage into a source of enduring competitive strength.

About the Authors

Mauro Macchi is Chief Executive Officer, EMEA – Accenture

Dominic King is EMEA Lead – Accenture Research

Ladan Davarzani is a Senior Principal – Accenture Research