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Low productivity growth is a concern for policymakers across the globe. Steve Perkins, global leader for technology, says boosting R&D is the way to compensate for ageing populations and slower employment growth.

Rising labour costs and the quest for productivity are driving businesses to automate. Finding new roles for redundant workers will be the next challenge.

Fifty years on from the world’s first personal computer going into mass production, the Grant Thornton International Business Report reveals the scale of technology’s influence on business with the majority of firms now planning to automate operations and practices, potentially resulting in job losses.

In the years leading up to the financial crisis, investors from developed economies poured money into emerging economies looking for big returns from in the world's fastest growing markets. But now investment is increasingly flowing from 'East' to 'West' as emerging markets slow, boosting the growth prospects of real estate and construction (REC) businesses in Europe and North America.

Giving up the CEO role is one of the toughest challenges an entrepreneur will face, but doing it successfully will help their business to grow. This article draws on experience of Swedish CEOs and advisers to help business leaders make the transition smoothly.

More businesses are spurred on by a ‘fear of missing out’ (known colloquially as ‘FOMO’) than by a positive desire for growth when expanding abroad, according to new research from Grant Thornton's International Business Report (IBR). Business leaders are a fifth more likely to expand when presented with a negatively framed scenario than with the exact same scenario that was framed positively.

Ed Nusbaum advises businesses not to forget the pain of the financial crisis: History will look back on the financial crisis that began in 2008 as a major shock to the global economy. IMF managing director, Christine Lagarde, has talked about the "scars" it left behind. Just as when a sportsman or woman suffers a severe injury, it takes time for economies to rediscover their best form.

Drawing on data and insight from the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR), the Grant Thornton Global Dynamism Index (GDI), the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), this short report considers the outlook for Latin America in 2015

The European Commission (EC) recently announced plans to explore creating more integrated and deeper capital markets across its 28 Member States. Targeting a 2019 launch, the Capital Markets Union (CMU) aims to streamline financial markets and allow businesses access to more diverse financing sources, regardless of geographic location within the EU. Grant Thornton recently submitted recommendations to the EC on those efforts we believe can most help mid-sized businesses (MSBs) benefit from the proposal.

Established players in the hospitality and tourism sector are having to work harder than ever to find growth. A series of recent events have disrupted demand in the short-term, but longer term, the rise of the digital economy is threatening traditional operating models and sales channels. Businesses in the sector need to be alive to the challenges posed by online travel agencies and aggregators (OTAs), as they try to build their brand and maintain market share.

The European recovery is gaining momentum according to Grant Thornton's International Business Report (IBR). However, drawing on interviews with more than 1,100 regional executives, the report uncovers a number of threats, from Greek debt negotiations to high unemployment, which continue to undermine European stability and long-term business growth prospects.

Video case study: UK company Berry White used crowdfunding platform CrowdCube to scale up internationally. Here's how they did it.

Effective management of country-by-country reporting is going to require a new way of looking at transfer pricing

Businesses across Europe have greater concern about the prospect of the UK leaving the EU than Greece leaving the eurozone, according to new research from Grant Thornton. This comes just as the UK is about to go the polls in an election where a potential EU referendum is a major policy battleground, and just ahead of Greece’s deadline to repay almost €1billion to the International Monetary Fund in May.

Advances in technology and logistics allow businesses to expand across borders more easily, but understanding and overcoming the psychological barriers to expansion abroad is crucial to giving your global growth plans a head-start.

Dominic King, Editor - global research, draws on a session at the 2015 IMF/World Bank Spring Conference to ask why regional trade deals are trumping a multilateral agreement and how the digital economy is reshaping globalisation.