IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/worbus/v47y2012i4p493-503.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Defining the “global” in global leadership

Author

Listed:
  • Mendenhall, Mark E.
  • Reiche, B. Sebastian
  • Bird, Allan
  • Osland, Joyce S.

Abstract

While scholars have begun to develop the conceptual foundations of global leadership, few attempts have been made to unify the plethora of existing definitions. We argue that the lack of a precise, rigorous and commonly accepted definition of global leadership limits the field's conceptual and empirical progress. Building on recommended practice for construct definitions, we first review and critique existing definitions of global leadership. Second, we specifically focus on explicating the global construct encompassed by the global leadership phenomenon and propose three dimensions along which this sub-construct can be analyzed: complexity, flow, and presence. Finally, we offer a revised construct definition and conclude with implications for research and practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Mendenhall, Mark E. & Reiche, B. Sebastian & Bird, Allan & Osland, Joyce S., 2012. "Defining the “global” in global leadership," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 493-503.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:47:y:2012:i:4:p:493-503
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jwb.2012.01.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090951612000041
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jwb.2012.01.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Caligiuri, Paula & Tarique, Ibraiz, 2009. "Predicting effectiveness in global leadership activities," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 336-346, July.
    2. Kevin J. Dooley & Andrew H. Van de Ven, 1999. "Explaining Complex Organizational Dynamics," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(3), pages 358-372, June.
    3. Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa & Dorothy E. Leidner, 1999. "Communication and Trust in Global Virtual Teams," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(6), pages 791-815, December.
    4. Suutari, Vesa & Brewster, Chris, 2000. "Making their own way: international experience through self-initiated foreign assignments," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 417-436, January.
    5. Collings, David G. & Scullion, Hugh & Morley, Michael J., 2007. "Changing patterns of global staffing in the multinational enterprise: Challenges to the conventional expatriate assignment and emerging alternatives," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 198-213, June.
    6. Harvey, Michael G. & Buckley, M. Ronald, 1997. "Managing inpatriates: Building a global core competency," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 35-52, April.
    7. Douglas Dow & Amal Karunaratna, 2006. "Developing a multidimensional instrument to measure psychic distance stimuli," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(5), pages 578-602, September.
    8. Harvey, Michael & Novicevic, Milorad M. & Buckley, M. Ronald & Fung, Helen, 2005. "Reducing inpatriate managers' 'Liability of Foreignness' by addressing stigmatization and stereotype threats," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 267-280, August.
    9. Sumantra Ghoshal & D. Eleanor Westney, 1993. "Introduction and Overview," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Sumantra Ghoshal & D. Eleanor Westney (ed.), Organization Theory and the Multinational Corporation, chapter 1, pages 1-23, Palgrave Macmillan.
    10. Tahvanainen, Marja & Welch, Denice & Worm, Verner, 2005. "Implications of Short-term International Assignments," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 663-673, December.
    11. Shung J Shin & Frederick P Morgeson & Michael A Campion, 2007. "What you do depends on where you are: understanding how domestic and expatriate work requirements depend upon the cultural context," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(1), pages 64-83, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Farndale, Elaine & Pai, Avinash & Sparrow, Paul & Scullion, Hugh, 2014. "Balancing individual and organizational goals in global talent management: A mutual-benefits perspective," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 204-214.
    2. B. Sebastian Reiche & Allan Bird & Mark E. Mendenhall & Joyce S. Osland, 2017. "Contextualizing leadership: a typology of global leadership roles," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(5), pages 552-572, July.
    3. Alon Lisak & Miriam Erez & Yang Sui & Cynthia Lee, 2016. "The positive role of global leaders in enhancing multicultural team innovation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(6), pages 655-673, August.
    4. Bird, Allan & Mendenhall, Mark E., 2016. "From cross-cultural management to global leadership: Evolution and adaptation," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 115-126.
    5. Christof Miska & Mark E. Mendenhall, 2018. "Responsible Leadership: A Mapping of Extant Research and Future Directions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 117-134, March.
    6. Crane, Bret & Hartwell, Christopher J., 2019. "Global talent management: A life cycle view of the interaction between human and social capital," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 82-92.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Collings, David G., 2014. "Integrating global mobility and global talent management: Exploring the challenges and strategic opportunities," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 253-261.
    2. Caligiuri, Paula & Bonache, Jaime, 2016. "Evolving and enduring challenges in global mobility," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 127-141.
    3. Li, Shenxue & Scullion, Hugh, 2010. "Developing the local competence of expatriate managers for emerging markets: A knowledge-based approach," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 190-196, April.
    4. Harvey, Michael & Reiche, B. Sebastian & Moeller, Miriam, 2011. "Developing effective global relationships through staffing with inpatriate managers: The role of interpersonal trust," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 150-161, June.
    5. Guttormsen, David S.A., 2018. "Does the ‘non-traditional expatriate’ exist? A critical exploration of new expatriation categories," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 233-244.
    6. Duvivier, Florence & Peeters, Carine & Harzing, Anne-Wil, 2019. "Not all international assignments are created equal: HQ-subsidiary knowledge transfer patterns across types of assignments and types of knowledge," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 181-190.
    7. Christian Linder, 2016. "Embeddedness and the International Workforce: Stylized Facts and Future Research Directions," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 17(3), pages 541-565, June.
    8. Tomoki Sekiguchi & Norihiko Takeuchi & Tomokazu Takeuchi & Shiho Nakamura & Azusa Ebisuya, 2019. "How Inpatriates Internalize Corporate Values at Headquarters: The Role of Developmental Job Assignments and Psychosocial Mentoring," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 59(5), pages 825-853, October.
    9. Felker, Julie & Gianecchini, Martina, 2015. "Influence of pre-graduation international experiences on early career internationalization: The mediation effect of career capital," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 60-70.
    10. Elenkov, Detelin S. & Manev, Ivan M., 2009. "Senior expatriate leadership's effects on innovation and the role of cultural intelligence," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 357-369, October.
    11. Kiessling, Timothy & Maley, Jane Frances & Moeller, Miriam & Dabić, Marina, 2023. "Managing global knowledge transfer: Inpatriate manager embeddedness and firm innovation," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(2).
    12. Farah, Bassam & Chakravarty, Dwarka & Dau, Luis & Beamish, Paul W., 2022. "Multinational enterprise parent-subsidiary governance and survival," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(2).
    13. Haldun Şecaattin ÇETİNARSLAN & Esin CAN, 2019. "Çokuluslu İşletmelerin Yönetici Kaynakları Üzerine Kavramsal Bir Çalışma," Istanbul Management Journal, Istanbul University Business School, vol. 0(86), pages 75-95, June.
    14. Rickley, Marketa & Karim, Samina, 2018. "Managing institutional distance: Examining how firm-specific advantages impact foreign subsidiary CEO staffing," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 740-751.
    15. Tung, Rosalie L., 2016. "New perspectives on human resource management in a global context," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 142-152.
    16. Przytuła Sylwia, 2015. "Migrants, Assigned Expatriates (AE) and Self-initiated Expatriates (SIE) - Dfferentiation of Terms and Literature-Based Research Review," Journal of Intercultural Management, Sciendo, vol. 7(2), pages 89-111, June.
    17. Émilie Lapointe & Christian Vandenberghe & Shea X. Fan, 2022. "Psychological contract breach and organizational cynicism and commitment among self-initiated expatriates vs. host country nationals in the Chinese and Malaysian transnational education sector," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 319-342, March.
    18. Mariacristina Piva & Massimiliano Tani & Marco Vivarelli, 2018. "Business visits, knowledge diffusion and productivity," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(4), pages 1321-1338, October.
    19. Moreira, Márcia Zabdiele & Ogasavara, Mário Henrique, 2018. "Formal and informal institutions and the expatriation assignment: The case of Japanese subsidiaries in Latin America," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 18-26.
    20. repec:rai:zfpers:doi_10.1688/1862-0000_zfp_2013_02_remhof is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Li, Liang (Arthur) & Schotter, Andreas P.J. & Beamish, Paul W., 2024. "The origin and nationality of general manager successors in local-market-seeking MNE subsidiaries," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(3).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:47:y:2012:i:4:p:493-503. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620401/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.