How leadership is shaping multinationals and the need for managers to have a global mindset approach : managerial cognition and the influence on the internalisation process of an emerging market firm

Abstract

The world in which business is conducted has become more interconnected than ever, with institutions being intertwined in the manufacturing and delivery of products and services on a global scale. Organisations are required to continuously adapt and realign their strategic intent to a global landscape that presents numerous challenges needing to be navigated with precision and extreme caution. This is even more prevalent to organisations that are seeking to expand their business activities outside their home country. In international business, the internationalisation process is in itself complex and dynamic. The Uppsala model is applied to interpret the internationalisation process where the opportunities that are presented to the organisation are explored. It is during this analytical process and beyond, where the leadership of the organisation is confronted with decision making processes that could ultimately influence the organisation’s internationalisation behaviour. In view of this, the study examines the knowledge gap by exploring the managerial cognition of the individual, how the individual’s managerial cognition is influenced by the global mindset approach, and how the individual’s decision-making behaviour is influenced by their own rationality. Examining the behaviour of the individual during the internationalisation process, will allow organisations to identify linkages between the individual and the organisation that would potentially have a direct influence on the performance of the organisation. The research methodology was a qualitative study which applied semi structured interviews with representatives from South Africa, Canada, United States, Indonesia, Ghana, New Zealand, and Australia. The outcome of the research indicated that there is a relationship between the individual’s cognitive attributes and the effect it has on the organisation’s internationalisation processes. The research further showed that the relationship between the mentioned cognitive attributes of the individual is not a singular function in the organisational context but that it points towards a dual relationship, that being the individual and his/her respective characteristics, and the collective characteristics of the individuals in the organisation, namely leadership.