What we talk about when we talk about "global mindset": managerial cognition in multinational corporations

Recent developments in the global economy and in multinational corporations have placed significant emphasis on the cognitive orientations of managers, giving rise to a number of concepts such as “global mindset” that are presumed to be associated with the effective management of multinational corporations (MNCs). This paper reviews the literature on global mindset and clarifies some of the conceptual confusion surrounding the construct. We identify common themes across writers, suggesting that the majority of studies fall into one of three research perspectives: cultural, strategic, and multidimensional. We also identify two constructs from the social sciences that underlie the perspectives found in the literature: cosmopolitanism and cognitive complexity and use these two constructs to develop an integrative theoretical framework of global mindset. We then provide a critical assessment of the field of global mindset and suggest directions for future theoretical and empirical research

International New Ventures: Revisiting the Influences Behind the 'Born-Global' Firm

There is a small but theoretically important literature on ‘born-globals’ or international new venture firms that positions itself in contrast to the more established sequential international entry literature. In this paper we examine the pattern of entry into international markets for a set of international new ventures and show that they need not be a distinct breed of firms, as previous research has portrayed. Absent a specific technological advantage, the decision for a new venture to internationalize at inception is influenced by the size of its home market and by its production capacity, as well as by cultural and economic forces that also influence other more traditional firms that stage their entry into international markets. Most importantly, we demonstrate that the decision to internationalize or not should be considered jointly with the capacity allocation decision to specific international markets, as analysing these separately may lead to biased results. Journal of International Business Studies (2007) 38, 1113–1131. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400308

A conceptual study of immigrant born globals and their multinationalization process

We build on the growing interest in born globals by examining the multinational growth pattern of immigrant new ventures, as opposed to that of native entrepreneurial new ventures. The multinational growth pattern of native new ventures, especially those originating from small home markets and/or lacking international market experience or networks, has been explained in the international business (IB) research using the Uppsala stage model. The Uppsala model postulates that the new ventures build their international absorptive capacity for discovering and accessing external knowledge by focusing on the psychically proximate nations and using low committed entry and growth modes, and then taking calculated risks to escalate their distance and commitment in a linear mode to reap positive rewards. We draw on the immigrant entrepreneur, social network, and related literatures to postulate that new immigrant ventures are more likely to be able to enter host markets that are psychically distant from their home markets and using higher committed entry and growth modes. Moreover, their founders are more likely to be cognitively and emotionally comfortable in pursuing non-linear approaches to sequential market entry and commitment mode choices. We discuss the implications of the varying balance of home vs. host market forces on the multinationalization process of alternative types of firms discussed in the literature