Mastering strategy in the age of geoeconomics

Over the past few years, the global business environment has become structurally different. Trade restrictions, sanctions regimes, technology controls, and the fragmentation of supply chains are now enduring features of how markets operate.

The limits of a risk-only lens 

Yet in many organisations, geoeconomics is still approached primarily through the lens of risk. 

The focus is typically on exposure: Which markets might become inaccessible? Which suppliers might be disrupted? Which regulations might tighten? These are important questions. But they are also incomplete. 

Because what is changing is not only the level of risk, but the logic of competition itself. 

A new logic of competition 

In today’s environment, competitive advantage is increasingly shaped by how companies are positioned within global economic networks – across supply chains, technological ecosystems, financial networks, and regulatory regimes. The key question is no longer only how to reduce vulnerability, but how to operate strategically within these systems. 

In other words, corporate geoeconomics is not just about managing downside risk. It is about shaping your position in a world where economic relationships are becoming instruments of power. 

In other words, corporate geoeconomics is not just about managing downside risk. It is about shaping your position in a world where economic relationships are becoming instruments of power. 

Where the shift is already visible 

This shift is already visible across multiple domains. 

Consider technology. Export controls, investment screening, and industrial policy are redefining who can access critical capabilities and under what conditions. For companies operating in advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, or digital infrastructure, access to technology is no longer governed purely by market dynamics, but by political alignment and regulatory compatibility. 

Or take supply chains. What once appeared as diversified and efficient networks are now revealing hidden concentrations and chokepoints, often upstream, and often outside the immediate visibility of the company. Increasingly, companies are discovering that resilience is not simply a function of the number of suppliers, but of where control resides within the system. 

Energy and raw materials offer a similar story. The green transition is creating new dependencies even as it reduces others. Access to critical minerals, processing capacity, and energy infrastructure is becoming a strategic question that is increasingly shaped by geopolitical considerations. 

Across these domains, the common thread is that the conditions under which businesses compete are being restructured by geoeconomic forces. 

The strategic disconnect 

But here lies the problem. 

In many organisations, these developments remain disconnected from core strategy. Geoeconomics is often handled in risk, compliance, or public affairs functions, rather than being integrated into strategic planning, investment decisions, and operating models. 

The result is a form of strategic disconnect. 

Risks may be identified and mitigated. But opportunities remain underexplored. Dependencies and exposure are managed reactively rather than shaped proactively. And the company’s position within a changing environment evolves more by default than by design. 

Risks may be identified and mitigated. But opportunities remain underexplored.

Build resilience through a different approach 

What would it mean to approach this differently? 

First, it requires a better understanding of the company’s exposure. Not only at the level of direct suppliers or markets, but across underlying systems of critical flows, such as energy and materials, digital infrastructures, logistics networks, and financial channels. This is where dependencies often reside, and where disruptions propagate. 

Second, it requires a shift from visibility to agency. It is not enough to map dependencies; companies must ask how they can reduce vulnerabilities, increase optionality, and strengthen their bargaining position within critical relationships. 

It is not enough to map dependencies; companies must ask how they can reduce vulnerabilities, increase optionality, and strengthen their bargaining position within critical relationships. 

Third, it requires integrating geoeconomics into core strategic choices. Decisions about market entry, partnerships, sourcing, technology development, and capital allocation increasingly have a geoeconomic dimension. Treating these decisions as purely commercial is no longer sufficient. 

Finally, it requires building organisational capability. Geoeconomic awareness cannot reside in a single function. It must be embedded across leadership teams, connecting strategy, finance, operations, legal, comms, HR, and government relations. 

It is about recognising that the environment in which businesses operate these days has changed, and that strategy must evolve accordingly. 

Nordic companies should leverage their unique position 

For Nordic companies in particular, this shift is especially consequential. 

Operating in highly open economies, often at the technological frontier, Nordic companies are deeply embedded in global economic networks. This has been a source of strength. But it also creates exposure in a world where these networks and systems are becoming more contested and more fragmented. 

At the same time, Nordic companies are well positioned to adapt. 

They tend to have strong governance, long-term strategic orientation, and close interaction with public institutions. These are advantages in a world where competitiveness is increasingly shaped by the ability to navigate the intersection of markets and politics. 

The question is whether these capabilities are being systematically leveraged. 

The aim is not to provide generic geopolitical updates, but to equip leadership teams with a structured way to connect geoeconomic developments to their own strategic choices. 

The Mastering Geoeconomic Strategy programme 

This is the challenge we set out to address in the Mastering Geoeconomic Strategy programme developed together by the Economic Security Forum and Hanken & SSE Executive Education. 

The aim is not to provide generic geopolitical updates, but to equip leadership teams with a structured way to connect geoeconomic developments to their own strategic choices. 

This includes developing a company-level diagnostic of geoeconomic exposure, identifying critical dependencies and strategic levers, and translating these insights into concrete actions across functions and decision-making processes. 

Equally important is the peer dimension. Many of the challenges companies face are shared, but not openly discussed. Bringing together senior leaders across sectors creates a space to compare approaches, test assumptions, and learn from different strategies. 

From reaction to position 

Ultimately, the goal is simple: to move from reacting to geoeconomic change to shaping position within it.

Because in a world defined by the return of geopolitics, those who understand and actively manage their position will not only be more resilient. They will be more competitive. 

Find out more about the Mastering Geoeconomic Strategy programme.