As economies face broad global issues such as demographic shifts and inflated balance sheets, businesses’ productivity growth is increasingly crucial. In high-growth sectors, standout firms make significant contributions to productivity, while in low-growth sectors, the impact of straggler firms is more pronounced. For example, from 2011 to 2019, the US computer sector saw an 8 percent productivity growth, with standout firms contributing 8.1 percentage points, note Senior Partner Sven Smit and colleagues. In contrast, some sectors in several countries had many stragglers, which each dragged on productivity and resulted in negative growth. Click through the interactive to see more.
To read the report, see “The power of one: How standout firms grow national productivity,” May 6, 2025.