Business leaders with international experience are associated with stronger organisational performance, including higher growth, profitability and stock market performance, according to new research.<\/p>\n
The study, published in the Journal of Management, examined how the international experience of chief executives, founders, senior management teams and boards influences business strategy and performance.<\/p>\n
Dr Fei Qin of the University of Bath School of Management, who co-authored the study with Professor Klaus Meyer of the Ivey Business School and Professor Sabina Tasheva Nielsen of University of Sydney, said: “International experience is much more than simply spending time abroad. It can be accrued through formative years abroad, education, work assignments, or exposure to different cultures and business environments. These experiences can develop leaders’ understanding of foreign markets, broaden their professional networks and shape how they interpret opportunities and risks.”<\/p>\n
Companies led by executives with greater international experience often invested more in innovation and were better able to generate returns from those investments.<\/p>\n
They were also more likely to support and successfully implement international expansion strategies, including entering new markets, pursuing acquisitions abroad and expanding more rapidly overseas.<\/p>\n
International experience was also linked to improved understanding of governance and risk management, and greater support for sustainability, environmental initiatives and corporate social responsibility activities.<\/p>\n
Dr Qin added: “While international experience often improves leadership decision-making, innovation and growth, the benefits are not guaranteed. Its value depends on context. Increasingly, what matters is the composition of the leadership team as a whole and how different forms of international experience are brought together.”<\/p>\n
The study found outcomes depended on factors such as the type and relevance of the experience, the dynamics of the leadership teams, and the organisational and industry context in which leaders operate.<\/p>\n
Dr Qin said organisations should move beyond simply asking whether a leader has international experience and instead consider the nature of that experience and its length, breadth, variety, and the degree of cultural and institutional distance involved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
University of Bath research shows globally experienced leaders boost performance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":47408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120785,127720,120903],"coauthors":[160],"class_list":["post-47406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-skills","category-universities-and-business","tag-bristol-and-bath","tag-featured-story"],"yoast_head":"\n