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Looking Outward - How Boards Can Drive Innovation and Productivity
Insights from the
Instituto de Directores de Chile (IdDC)
Chile faces a decisive moment. After years of low dynamism and stagnant productivity, the country must recover a path of sustainable growth based not only on favourable macro-economic indicators, but on strengthening the institutional and governance capacity of its organizations. In many cases, companies have been more reactive than anticipatory, and boards are being called to lead a new cycle of strategic renewal.
It is in this context that the Instituto de Directores de Chile (IdDC) conducted the study “Projection 2026: Directors' Vision for Achieving Growth”, a survey of more than 200 business leaders, comprising of board directors (58.3%), CEOs (26%) and senior executives (15.7%) - which reveals both a strong willingness to drive development and a practical roadmap for boards facing the challenges of the coming years.
Innovation can no longer remain confined to isolated units. It must become a core policy at the board level: defining digital strategy, allocating resources to experimentation, monitoring technological performance indicators, and cultivating an agile, adaptable organisational culture.
Innovation and Productivity as Board-Level Priorities:
Four pillars stand out as essential for boosting Chile's economy in 2026: Innovation, Productivity, Sustainability, and Public–Private Collaboration. When asked which issues should be prioritised by boards in the next two years, the response was unequivocal:
• 52.9% selected Innovation and Productivity as the critical levers for growth.
• 13.5% emphasised Digital Transformation.
• The remainder highlighted Sustainable Investment (12.6%), Governance and Ethics (12.1%), and Human Capital (8.9%)
The strong emphasis on innovation and productivity indicates a growing recognition that Chilean companies may be falling behind global benchmarks and that boards will need to adopt a more proactive and strategic role to help close this gap.
Digital transformation also emerges as a strategic domain that goes far beyond IT operations. Boards are expected to strengthen oversight of cybersecurity, data governance, and responsible integration of emerging technologies, areas that directly affect organisational resilience and competitiveness.
Innovation can no longer remain confined to isolated units. It must become a core policy at the board level: defining digital strategy, allocating resources to experimentation, monitoring technological performance indicators, and cultivating an agile, adaptable organisational culture. These are no longer optional ambitions; they constitute fundamental governance responsibilities.
Looking Outward: Learning from Global Innovation Ecosystems
For Chilean boards, one of the most effective ways to accelerate transformation is to broaden their perspectives beyond national borders. Innovation hubs such as Silicon Valley, and other global centres of excellence, offer continuous lessons on how digital evolution enhances productivity.
What differentiates organisations that thrive in these ecosystems?
Beyond technological sophistication, they operate under Future-Oriented Governance Models where boards view the business as a platform for constant evolution. These boards tolerate - and even expect - Iterative Learning Cycles, where failure is reframed as an investment in capability-building.
This outward-looking mindset was also highlighted during th the 4th Board Directors' Summit Chile 2025, where international experts underscored the value of incorporating global talent, external advisors and diverse perspectives into board deliberations. Organisations that “open their windows to the world” tend to gain perspective, ambition, and speed - precisely the attributes Chile needs in its next phase of development.
Chile will not raise productivity without more strategic boards; it will not scale innovation without institutional leadership; it will not attract talent without long-term vision; and it will not advance technologically without learning from global best practices.
Boards as Engines of Strategic Renewal
A revealing insight from the study is that only 46.6% of boards report having fully adjusted their growth strategies to the evolving economic context. In other words, more than half of companies continue navigating a new economic cycle with outdated tools.
In a landscape marked by technological disruption, regulatory shifts, social expectations and global competition, boards must transition from a traditional supervisory role to one of strategic leadership. The duty of care increasingly demands guiding the change - not merely approving it.
Ultimately, growth will depend as much on governance decisions as on investment decisions.
Chile will not raise productivity without more strategic boards; it will not scale innovation without institutional leadership; it will not attract talent without long-term vision; and it will not advance technologically without learning from global best practices.
Chile's Message to the International Governance Community
Chile is strengthening its corporate governance ecosystem through evidence-based studies, international collaboration and a renewed focus on strategic board leadership. The findings of Projection 2026 position the country as an active contributor to the global conversations on how boards can drive innovation-led growth.
For markets such as India, which are similarly experiencing swift technological and economic change, these insights highlight a common understanding: strong governance frameworks are central to sustaining national competitiveness.
Innovation can no longer remain confined to isolated units. It must become a core policy at the board level: defining digital strategy, allocating resources to experimentation, monitoring technological performance indicators, and cultivating an agile, adaptable organisational culture.
Back to HomeAuthor
Ms. Fadua Gajardo
Executive Director Instituto de Directores de Chile (IdDC)
Owned by: Institute of Directors, India
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the articles/ stories are the personal opinions of the author. IOD/ Editor is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in those articles. The information, facts or opinions expressed in the articles/ speeches do not reflect the views of IOD/ Editor and IOD/ Editor does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
