Brad Van De Sompele, president at Frontier Electric Supply in Bensenville, Ill., is one long-time member of the National Association of electrical Distributors who's not afraid of Amazon's advances into the electrical industry.

Nearly 60 percent of 350 C-level executives surveyed believe they can "truthfully assure the board beyond a reasonable doubt" that their organization is secure, a surprising show of confidence in an environment where many reports reveal a high incidence of network breaches in up to 97 percent of all companies.

Despite a concerted push to expand their overseas presence in recent decades, few companies are ready to build and run truly global organizations and operations, according to a survey of executives conducted jointly by The Boston Consulting Group and IMD business school.