Signal Capital availability is the least-cited barrier to fixing productivity stagnation

Summary

McKinsey's 2026 survey asked leaders to name the main barriers to addressing the root causes of productivity stagnation. Only 13 percent said a lack of capital expenditure for improvement projects was holding them back. That made it the least frequently cited obstacle on the list, far behind short-term cost focus and organizational silos at 30 percent each. The report reads this as a sign that resource allocation for workflow redesign is often neglected and that respondents downplay investment in change. It pairs the finding with an example of a consumer goods firm where commercial and production units resisted giving up control. There, leaders held joint meetings over several months to expose data differences and build alignment.