Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2006. / "In conjunction with the Sloan Fellows Program on Innovation and Global Leadership." / Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-140). / At the time of this writing, the NYSE had just completed its historic merger with Archipelago, LLC, while changing its ownership structure to a public company. The conditions leading up to this transformation are descriptive of the overall changes in "exchange structures" and the infrastructure of equity trading in the United States and around the world. The document is written to be useful to an audience of both industry and non-industry executives. To accomplish this, we examine the historical underpinnings of exchanges, how they developed, identifying conditions that transcend structures themselves. We go on to describe the mechanics, governance, technology, and regulatory environment of exchanges today. From this we can examine the forces inducing and enabling changes in the market structures. The "investment supply chain" is introduced as a framework to understand the flow of capital in the economy and the changing position of the exchanges and industry players. We consider the anatomy of trading, evolving technologies and the experience of non-US exchanges in the process of demutualization, technology infrastructure change and business model evolution. The thesis also draws on inferences from similar economic shifts in other industries. / (cont.) The parallel industry discussion should serve as an intuition builder in understanding the forces at work, the time it may take to see an equilibrium state and the behavior of the participants. The thesis has relied heavily on interviews and perspectives of people close to these events: NYSE staff, ECNs, the buy and sell side, regulators and academics. As such, it attempts to provide an informed and balanced view of the current state of play and the momentum of events. / by James F. Walker. / S.M.

Leaders of today have the challenge to lead in a complex, rapidly changing, multicultural context. In most industries, leaders perform tasks on a global level and they are required to have the necessary competencies to be more effective. It is a well-known fact that organizations are still negatively affected in terms of competitiveness and growth, due to leaders` lack of capabilities to lead effectively. Furthermore, despite the previous academic contributions, global leadership still remains a developing field to be explored. Previous studies on the global leadership listed various competencies to lead to effectively in a global environment. However, a limited evidence was provided to support direct relationship between those competencies and the global leadership effectiveness. Moreover, previous studies have concentrated mainly on defining global leadership competencies, but there is still a gap to understand which of those competencies makes global leaders effective. There is also a strong need for conducting more empirical studies in the field. In response to this gap, the purpose of this research is to identify necessary competencies for global leadership effectiveness and test them empirically. Structural Equation Modelling was used as a research method with the data collected from a questionnaire of 175 respondents worldwide, mainly located in Europe. The results of the research showed that Cross-Cultural Experience, Cultural Flexibility and Stress Tolerance predict global leadership effectiveness. Furthermore, detailed explanation of each competency that predict global leadership effectiveness were provided. The results of this research have both theoretical and managerial implications. Firstly, it proves empirically and quantitatively the relationship between identified competencies and global leadership effectiveness. Secondly, the results of the research contribute to the existing literature where there is a limited amount of research that focus on understanding global leadership competencies and global leadership effectiveness.

Given economic and societal shifts towards globalization, the need to develop effective global leaders is well documented. This thesis explored the development of a prototype instrument for use in global leadership classes or training to assess and/or develop the competencies and decision-making abilities associated with effective global leadership. The format of the instrument was a hybrid of situational judgment tests (SJTs) and culture assimilators and its content was drawn from a real life critical incident as recounted by an expert global leader during an interview using cognitive task analysis techniques. The interview was part of qualitative research that investigated expert cognition displayed by exceptional global leaders. The thesis included a literature review of global leadership research to identify the general competencies, intercultural competencies, and cognitive proficiency of effective global leaders that would serve as a foundation for the domains to be assessed and developed. SJTs and culture assimilators were discussed as format examples for constructing the instrument. The process of creating and refining the tool was then reviewed, which included developing the questions and answers, conducting pre-tests, gathering feedback from subject matter experts, and conducting a content analysis to ensure global leadership and intercultural competencies were addressed. Data collected during the course of development were presented and discussed. Step-by-step instructions (that included potential improvements to the process experimented with to date) were included to guide others in future development. An abridged sample of the instrument was provided.

This research explores the leadership constructs of global leaders and Chinese managers in multi-national corporations (MNCs) in order to understand whether their constructs are misaligned, and if so, in what ways. To address these questions, data was gathered via repertory grid test interviews with 31 global leaders and 59 Chinese managers in six MNCs’ China organizations. Analysis subsequently revealed that global leaders rely upon twelve key constructs to define global leadership capability and potential. These are: creative, drive to improve, communication skill, collaborative style, charisma, professional knowledge and experience, visionary, cross culture, flexibility, confidence, team development and emotional intelligence. Crucially however, half of the global leaders’ key constructs were not identified as important to Chinese managers; furthermore, most of the missing constructs resonate with charismatic and transformational leadership characteristics, indicating a gap between the two groups’ leadership concepts. Subsequently, both groups of leaders’ leadership constructs were compared with their respective companies’ Leadership Competency Frameworks. The results again revealed gaps, suggesting reliance upon headquarter-developed leadership frameworks to communicate leadership expectations and develop local leaders is either deficient, or inappropriate. The global leaders and Chinese managers’ perspectives on Chinese managers’ career barriers were also explored, with the evidence indicating that perceptions of both groups are influenced by their own cultural assumptions. As the global leaders’ perspectives aligned with their own leadership constructs but Chinese managers were not aware of the importance of those constructs, it seems to support the contention that a bias may exist when global leaders evaluate Chinese managers’ leadership capability and potential.

This research explores the leadership constructs of global leaders and Chinese managers in multi-national corporations (MNCs) in order to understand whether their constructs are misaligned, and if so, in what ways. To address these questions, data was gathered via repertory grid test interviews with 31 global leaders and 59 Chinese managers in six MNCs’ China organizations. Analysis subsequently revealed that global leaders rely upon twelve key constructs to define global leadership capability and potential. These are: creative, drive to improve, communication skill, collaborative style, charisma, professional knowledge and experience, visionary, cross culture, flexibility, confidence, team development and emotional intelligence. Crucially however, half of the global leaders’ key constructs were not identified as important to Chinese managers; furthermore, most of the missing constructs resonate with charismatic and transformational leadership characteristics, indicating a gap between the two groups’ leadership concepts. Subsequently, both groups of leaders’ leadership constructs were compared with their respective companies’ Leadership Competency Frameworks. The results again revealed gaps, suggesting reliance upon headquarter-developed leadership frameworks to communicate leadership expectations and develop local leaders is either deficient, or inappropriate. The global leaders and Chinese managers’ perspectives on Chinese managers’ career barriers were also explored, with the evidence indicating that perceptions of both groups are influenced by their own cultural assumptions. As the global leaders’ perspectives aligned with their own leadership constructs but Chinese managers were not aware of the importance of those constructs, it seems to support the contention that a bias may exist when global leaders evaluate Chinese managers’ leadership capability and potential.

The recent wave of globalization triggered by the end of the Cold War and stimulated by progressing liberalization of trade and international migration policies has led to a significant surge in numbers of bicultural individuals, i.e. people with more than one ethnic identity (Nguyen & Benet-Martinez, 2007), and thus, a surge in bicultural employees. An emerging stream of research from psychology and organizational studies indicates that bicultural individuals have a particular set of skills and competencies that can contribute to the performance of international teams and, in turn, organizations. However, to date there has not been a large sample empirical study investigating the oft-stated relationship between biculturals and performance. This dissertation seeks to fill this gap in the literature by examining said relationship by relating the composition of national association football teams to results in six consecutive FIFA World Cup and six UEFA European Championship tournaments (i.e. the results of 272 teams in 12 competitions). The results indicate that biculturalism improves team performance when moderated by the cultural diversity of the competitive environment of the team. / Graduate

Purpose: The focus of this research is to understand the impact of diversity on global leadership performance. Design/methodology/approach: From the literature review the researcher developed the components of the LEAD³ tool as well as, devised the questions for the in-depth semi-structured interviews that would test the tool. The questions centred on the three constructs of leadership, diversity and organisational factors and interviews were conducted between 2009 and 2010. The sample consisted of 79 senior leaders from seven companies across seven differing sectors and covered 22 different countries across 5 continents. A case study research strategy using a hybrid of open coding, thematic analysis and content analysis was employed. Findings: A series of themes were found under the three constructs: For Global leadership – competencies, connecting, rigour, stakeholder satisfaction, value based professional, influences. For Diversity – inclusivity, performance measures, role modelling, positioning diversity and innovation. For Organisational factors – organisational way of being, facilitating diversity, behavioural practices, ways of working, issues of concern and driving diversity. Issues emerging from the comparative analysis consist of cultural dimensions, engagement and learning. Research Limitations: Issues on reliability and validation, translation in measurement, environmental inconsistency, interviewer/interviewee bias, and ecological fallacy often levied at qualitative research. Research Contribution and Value: The findings tested against the tool, confirm the robustness and relevancy of the LEAD³ as an operational tool that will enable leaders to focus and integrate their diversity efforts. LEAD³ is encapsulated within an integrated change management framework and proposes a multi-level and multi-dimensional approach to global leadership and diversity that also includes performance drivers, stakeholder groupings, performance outcomes and organisational activities (change interventions). Future Research:Finally, an attempt is made to develop a competency framework for leadership and diversity from data emerging from findings. This is named the Global Leader Index for Diversity (GLIDE) – a framework that recognises the diverse aspects of a global leader’s role and identifies associated skills and behaviours that global leaders of the future need to develop.

[pt] Esta dissertação identificou os fatores que afetam o Global Mindset de líderes globais e o seu efeito nos seus comportamentos da liderança. Para tanto, foi aplicado um questionário on-line baseado no modelo Global Mindset e Comportamento da Liderança de Konyu-Fogel (2011) para uma amostra de 163 líderes que atuam em atividades com escopo internacional de organizações multinacionais ou nacionais, em vinte e duas indústrias na África, Asia, América do Sul, América do Norte, Europa e no Oriente Médio. Concluímos que fatores demográficos tais como idade, gênero e número de línguas estrangeiras faladas não afetam significantemente o Global Mindset, embora líderes com idade superior a 60 anos ou que falem três ou mais línguas possuam maiores escores de Global Mindset. Identificamos também que o local de trabalho é um fator que afeta com significância o escore Global Mindset, confirmando estudos que evidenciam que a sensibilidade entre culturas é altamente dependente do histórico pessoal e da inteligência cultural do indivíduo. Concluindo a análise dos fatores demográficos, identificamos que o fator posição afeta o Global Mindset, tendo sido identificado que as posições Recruitment Partner e CEO apresentam os maiores escores para Global Mindset. Na avaliação do efeito dos fatores organizacionais sobre o Global Mindset, identificamos uma fraca relação em itens como: número total de empregados, número de países que a empresa opera, o percentual de empregados no exterior e local da matriz. Por outro lado, linha de produto (indústria), e o percentual de receita oriunda de operação no exterior impactam significativamente no Global Mindset dos líderes de negócio. Por fim, observamos que o Global Mindset é responsável por até 39,1 por cento de variabilidade no comportamento da liderança, confirmando estudos prévios de que líderes globais com alto Global Mindset são mais prováveis de ter comportamentos de liderança que mostram um entendimento das diferenças entre culturas e países em resposta ao ambiente global. / [en] This dissertation identified factors which affect the Global Mindset of global leaders and its effects on their leadership behaviors. To achieve this objective, an on-line survey based on the Global Mindset and Leadership Behavior instrument developed by Konyu-Fogel (2011) was applied to a sample of 163 leaders which work in positions which require international activities in multinational and national organizations in twenty two product lines (industries) in Africa, Asia, America do Sul, South America, Europe and Middle East. We conclude that demographic factors such as age, gender and number of foreign languages spoken do not significant affect Global Mindset, although leaders older than 60 or who speak at least three foreign languages have higher global mindset scores. We also identified that local of employment is a factor which significantly affect the Global Mindset score, confirming studies which identified that sensitivity across cultures is highly dependent on individual s personal background and cultural intelligence. Concluding the demographic factors analysis, we identified that the factor position affects the Global Mindset, presenting that positions Recruitment Partner and CEO have the higher Global Mindset scores. On assessment of organizational factors effects on Global Mindset, we identified a weak relationship under total number of employees, percentage of employees working overseas, location/country of headquarter s and Global Mindset. On the other hand, product line and number of percentage of revenue from foreign operations significantly affect business leaders Global Mindset. Finally, we noticed that Global Mindset is responsible for 39,1 percent of variability on leadership behavior, confirming previous studies which identified that global leaders with high Global Mindset are more likely to exhibit leadership behaviors which present understanding on differences across cultures and countries in response to the global environment.

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Today’s pressure of change, innovation and shorter life-cycles have created a projectification in nearly every industry. Especially international projects are more frequently used to meet the global competition. However, it is common that project managers despite impressive track record, fail when posted internationally due to inability to adapt to foreign cultures. Only half of all international projects reach expected results and many of them are not completed at all, which indicates that the complexity of international projects is underestimated. This study aims to explore how cultural differences increase the project complexity and challenge the leadership of the project manager. Furthermore, the project manager’s leadership ability is studied in terms of qualities required to lead international projects and achieving project objectives. Leadership is a well explored area of research but existing theories are foremost based on functional leadership and few on project leadership, fewer still in an international context. General management leadership theories are not applicable on leadership within project management because of the different circumstances since a project is defined as a unique task based on a flexible organization and limited time frame. Additionally, the knowledge of how national culture influences project management is limited and therefore underestimated. Today, global corporations invest billions of dollars in international projects and by gaining understanding of the qualities required to succeed leading international projects, corporations could better utilize resources, decrease costs and improve project outcome. Therefore this study explores both the cultural challenges that arise in international project, what qualities the project manager should possess and whether the human resource department recruits project managers with necessary qualities. This has been done through qualitative dialogues together with a theoretical framework. With this study, I hope to enlighten the reader of the meaning of international projects and how culture must be acknowledged as an influencing factor on project leadership. Furthermore, I hope to trigger reflection of the selection processes of project managers and who is suitable for the role.