Building Global Mindsets

In March 1995, Michael Smith (fictitious name) paid $490,000 for a 1981 Beech Duke aircraft. A bargain, thought Smith, a retired fighter pilot with a long-time passion for aerial photography who had just retired from the Navy. In the summer of 1999, Smith scheduled one of his favorite flights over the Pacific Coast. As usual, he stuck two fingers into the tank to ensure fuel was at the top, before departing the local county airport. Winds were calm, and visibility was high. “The perfect conditions to shoot,” thought Smith, while he and his wife were getting ready for an exciting photo session.

Managers likely differ in their attention to the world. And through them, so do entire organizations. But until recently, assessing the implications of such differences has been a rather awkward enterprise dependent on the use of approximate time recording techniques, best recall, and direct observation procedures. This chapter uses methods that are largely inductive, qualitative, and non-statistical in nature, as well as insights from relevant international strategic management literature, to present ideas and research propositions that help companies (1) better diagnose the attention top executives give to international business matters; (2) identify a set of internationally-oriented tools through which they can more effectively direct the focusing of time and effort by managers; and (3) understand whether global thinking abilities can improve performance, or whether in fact a more parochial approach works just as well.

This chapter outlines the methodology used to test the research’s hypotheses. The chapter splits naturally into two sections. The first section provides details about the sample selection process, including the choice of a multi-industry setting and the random selection of companies according to minimum size criteria. This section also provides a brief description of the main data collection instrument (mail questionnaire). The second section discusses the operationalization of the research variables.

In reporting the results, the questionnaire results are interwoven with interview findings to construct a comprehensive picture of the hypotheses under study.

In this chapter, the results are interpreted in light of their implications for research on the topic of attention, as well as for theories of global mindsets in MNEs. Much of the argument is designed to extend this research’s results to broader issues of multinational management, and thus, it is quite prescriptive in nature. As such, the discussion provided in this chapter may be of interest to both academic researchers and practitioners. The chapter is divided into four sections. The first section provides a brief summary interpretation of the research findings in light of past and existing research dealing with the topic of global mindsets. From this discussion, three themes emerged that are the subject of further discussion: (1) the MNE as a matrix of inter-connected minds, (2) global mindsets and the concept of geographic competency, and (3) the viability of a number of alternate globalization strategies for MNEs. These themes will be addressed in the second, third, and fourth sections of the chapter.

This research’s findings represent the early stage in the development of a body of empirical research addressing the issue of attentionmanagement in MNEs. The principal ambition of this study is to use recent theory and research on attention to develop an understanding of the determinants and performance implications of a global mindset. In-depth field interviews were combined with the results of a cross-national survey of 136 MNEs to assist in the achievement of this research endeavor. This chapter reconciles the results presented in Chapter 6 with prior relevant literature in international strategic management research. Few research projects are without limitations, particularly when they address the inner functioning of medium and large MNEs worldwide. These limitations are discussed in this chapter, along with directions for future research.