Dutch ceos are much less concerned about the digital revolution than their peers around the world, research carried out by headhunters Harvey Nash and consultants KPMG shows.

The two companies contacted 4,000 chief information officers (cios), who are responsible for the digitalisation of their company and report directly to the ceo.

Of those questioned and on a global basis, 12% said they experienced resistance from their ceo to digital renewal. In the Netherlands, that figure rose to 20%.

A quarter of Dutch cios say their ceo has no vision when it comes to the digital future. They do not know how to act in a world where knowledge can be gathered digitally, let alone how to produce new products from that knowledge.

In addition, ceos in three-quarters of Dutch companies let the marketing department develop the digital strategy, sometimes in combination with the cio, the research shows.

In just 7% of the companies does the ceo take charge of digitalisation.

‘The ceo needs to take action,’ KPMG partner William Koot told the Financieele Dagblad. ‘He must ask for information from specialists, travel and look for examples. And the cio needs to convert him.’