Global Mindset

Scholars define global mindset in a number of ways:

• Global mindset "means that we can scan the world from a broad perspective, always looking for unexpected trends and opportunities to achieve our personal, professional, or organizational objectives (Rhinesmith, 1992, p. 63).
• Global mindset "combines an openness to and awareness across cultures and markets with a propensity and ability to synthesize across this diversity" (Gupta & Govindarajan, 2002, p. 117).
• Global mindset is "a highly complex cognitive structure characterized by an openness to and articulation of multiple cultural and strategic realities on both global and local levels, and the cognitive ability to mediate and integrate across this multiplicity" (Levy, Schon, & Boyacigiller, 2007, p. 244).
• Global mindset is "a set of attributes and characteristics that help global leaders better influence individuals, groups, and organizations unlike themselves" (Javidan & Walker, 2013, p. 14).

It should be noted that the variability in scholars' definitions are significant; demonstrating conceptual similarities and divergences.

Introduction

In the middle of the 20th century, large multinational organizations began to observe that leadership may not translate across cultures. Multinational corporations came to this observation as they moved their most effective executives to new cultural contexts. Prior success as a leader in New York or London did not ensure effective leadership in Tokyo or Dubai. As a result, scholars began to wrestle with the question of why effective leadership might not translate into all cultures/contexts. This question identified the importance of context and reinforced long-standing debates within the study of leadership concerning acontextual theories of leadership. It was hypothesized that effective leadership in a previous context was not - in and of itself - sufficient to predict leadership effectiveness in a different cultural context; rather, an additional skill, attribute, or ability was needed to enable leaders to effectively operate in one or more different cultures and/or contexts (Javidan & Walker, 2013). This additional skill, attribute, or ability was termed global mindset. Scholars assume that global mindset enables the leader to identify global complexities and cultural diversity and then integrate such identifications in a manner to efficaciously accomplish individual and organizational goals (French & Chang, 2016; Levy et al., 2007).

History

Global mindset is often identified as originating from Perlmutter's (1969) reflections concerning the challenges of leadership in various local, regional, international, and global contexts. From the 1990s onward, attention to global mindset increased significantly amongst scholars and practitioners. This attention spans organizational contexts (e.g., for-profit, non-profit, government, and education) and includes significant investments within the academy to the study of global mindset (i.e. Global Mindset Project, Thunderbird School of Global Business) as well as within multinational corporations (c.f., Smith & Victorson, 2012).

Scholarship

Divergent Conceptualizations

One of the defining characteristics of the study of global mindset is the variance in defining and conceptualizing global mindset. In the midst of numerous definitions, the ways in which scholars articulate their conceptualizations of global mindset is equally varied. French (2016) has argued that these variances may be the consequence of neglect to the concept of mindset (see also French & Chang, 2016).

Empirical Research

Corresponding with the increasing attention found in both the academy and amongst practitioners of organizational leadership, empirical research has similarly increased. Perhaps the most significant of which is the data and analyses from the Global Mindset Project.

Global Mindset Project

The Global Mindset Project originated in 2004 from eight professors at the Thunderbird School of Global Management (Javidan & Bowen, 2013; Javidan & Walker, 2012). An intensive multi-method approach was developed to define and conceptualize global mindset and, subsequently to develop an instrument in which to measure this conceptualization. In 2007, this project introduced the Global Mindset Inventory that measured global mindset via three capitals, nine building blocks, and 35 attributes (Javidan & Walker, 2013). Tens of thousands of individuals have completed the Global Mindset Inventory and, as a result, the data collected has resulted in numerous publications and a wealth of analyses.

Practical Application

Despite all the variances and disagreements concerning what a global mindset is, how it functions, and how best to understand and/or measure it, scholars and practitioners agree that it is important for individual and organizational effectiveness in the midst of today's global village. While many scholars identify global mindset as an individual construct, organizations and groups of people are often identified as being able to similarly develop and benefit from global mindset. Further, scholars suggest that individuals and organizations, irregardless of their context have the potential to benefit from global mindset and its development. Even if a person or organization resides in a predominately rural, homogenous cultural context, global mindset and its development is thought to be advantageous for individual and organizational effectiveness. Simply put, the vast majority of global mindset scholars assume that all individuals and organizations benefit from global mindset and its development.

References

• French, R. P., II. (2016). The fuzziness of mindsets: Divergent conceptualizations and characterizations of mindset theory and praxis. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 24(4), 673-691. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-09-2014-0797
• French, R. P., II, & Chang, H. (2016). Conceptual re-imagining of global "mindset": Knowledge as prime in the development of global leaders. Journal of International Organizations Studies, 7(1), 49-62.
• Gupta, A. K., & Govindarajan, V. (2002). Cultivating a global mindset. Academy of Management Executive, 16(1), 116-126. doi: 10.5465/ame.2002.6640211
• Javidan, M., & Bowen, D. (2013). The "Global Mindset" of managers: What it is, why it matters, and how to develop it. Organizational Dynamics, 42(2), 145-155.
• Javidan, M., & Walker, J. L. (2012). A whole new global mindset for leadership. People & Strategy, 35(2), 36-41.
• Javidan, M., & Walker, J. L. (2013). Developing your global mindset: The handbook for successful global leaders. Edina, MN: Beaver's Pond Press.
• Levy, O., Schon, B., Taylor, S., & Boyacigiller, N. A. (2007). What we talk about when we talk about 'global mindset': Managerial cognition in multinational corporations. Journal of International Business Studies, 38(2), 231-258. doi: 10.2307/4540418
• Perlmutter, H. V. (1969). The tortuous evolution of the multinational corporation. Columbia Journal of World Business, 4(1), 9-18.
• Rhinesmith, S. H. (1992). Global mindsets for global managers. Training & Development, 46(10), 63-68.
• Smith, M. C., & Victorson, J. (2012). Developing a global mindset: Cross-cultural challenges and best practices for assessing and grooming high potentials for global leadership. People & Strategy, 35(2), 42-51.

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