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This chapter addresses the call for identification of organizational contingencies related to a global mindset, exploration of different forms of a global mindset, and the relationship of global mindset with global strategies. To this end, the chapter explores global mindset development in the context of a three-year case study of middle managers in a Danish multinational corporation working with deliberate global mindset capability development as a vehicle for global strategy execution. The analysis of individual middle manager practices of a global mindset and associated organizational practices, as observed from a middle manager strategy implementation perspective, is condensed into four core aspects of individual-organizational practice that enables the enactment of global mindset: inclusive strategy co-creation, interactional synergy, imagined community building, and performance flexibility. On the basis of these learnings, the potentials and opportunities of applying a contextual, behavioral perspective on global mindset that incorporates both individual and organizational factors, as opposed to a generic, cognitive perspective, are discussed in terms of advancing knowledge of both the global mindset–performance causal chain and the practical impact of global mindset research.

In this section, we offer a careful and systematic review of the theoretical and empirical studies relating to global mindset that have been published in books and peer-reviewed journals. This review includes studies that use differing terms to refer to the idea of global mindset but consider the same general concept. At the same time, we exclude studies that do not specifically pertain to global mindset but concentrate on such areas as global leadership, expatriates, and expatriation, even though they may focus on similar underlying themes found in the global mindset literature. We then identify two fundamental themes in the global mindset literature – cosmopolitanism and cognitive complexity – and use these concepts to develop a new integrative approach to global mindset.

Within the literature of global mindset there has been much discussion of antecedents. Few attempts have been made, however, to analyze the outcomes of a global mindset. Our chapter undertakes a thematic analysis of global mindset antecedents and outcomes in the 1994–2013 literature. Adopting an inductive approach and borrowing methods from international business and managerial cognition studies, we map, assess, and categorize 42 empirical and 10 theoretical studies thematically. We focus on the antecedents and outcomes at individual, group, and organizational levels. We conceptualize corporate global mindset as a multidimensional construct that incorporates global mindset at the individual level and is dependent on a robust communications infrastructure strategy for its cultivation throughout the organization. Our study categorizes antecedents and outcomes by level and identifies the gaps in global mindset outcomes and firm performance for future researchers to address.

In this paper, I consider the ways that global mindset contributes to the success of global firms. First, I review the evolution of the concept and answer the question “What is global mindset?” Then I describe the ways that management development programs and international mobility contribute to the development of a global mindset among managers in a global firm. Finally, I discuss two organizational processes designed to support the global mindset and make it actionable – the global performance management system and HR processes that support a culture of diversity.

Global mindset is an important theme in the international business strategy and organizational behavior literatures. However, these different paradigms define and operationalize global mindset in disparate ways, which creates problems for conducting empirical research as the disparity hampers the development of testable models. This article seeks to unify the different paradigms by introducing a third perspective from cognitive psychology that clarifies the process of mindset activation. We apply a process model of mindset activation to global mindset to build a theory of mindset switching relevant for global leaders. We operationalize global mindset as a dynamic process of mindset switching and suggest that the most appropriate mindset for a situation can be primed to activate. We also propose cosmopolitanism and cognitive complexity as antecedents to appropriate mindset activation and mindset switching. Finally, we suggest that mindset/situation congruence results in global leader creativity and boundary spanning. By applying the cognitive psychology literature to global mindset research, we clarify the process of global mindset and why it is important for leaders to understand how different primes might activate the most appropriate mindset. Our model provides a means for managers to become more cognitively aware of how they problem solve in a highly complex and multilayered world. This paper proposes a unique, dynamic model that captures dualities of global leadership. The model provides a new perspective of global mindset that is testable with existing measures and procedures.

One of the biggest challenges facing global organizations is the ability of leadership and International Human Resource Management (IHRM) professionals to capture the positive outcomes of a diverse workforce while fostering inclusion amongst its workers. New theory based upon optimal distinctiveness theory has challenged researchers to approach inclusion in a holistic manner, transcending political boundaries and cultural meanings of diversity to instead promote the uniqueness of individuals within-group belongingness. This chapter proposes a theoretical model that suggests leader capabilities such as global mindset can foster inclusiveness while reaping the benefits of unique backgrounds and diverse ideas. Two important individual-level outcomes of inclusiveness are presented: creativity and psychological safety. Also discussed are implications for strategic IHRM through recruitment, selection, talent management, and performance management activities.

Inherent in the meaning of global mindset is the dilemma of an appropriate level of analysis at which we define, measure, and research this construct. This chapter addresses the individual level of analysis using social cognition, which explains how the development process of global mindset helps individuals make sense of unfamiliar stimuli, broaden their cognitive capacities, adjust their behavior accordingly, and have a positive influence on others. Our recently developed core construct of positive psychological capital, or PsyCap (Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2007), and the overarching process of authentic leadership development (Avolio & Luthans, 2006) are used to explicate the theoretical social cognitive framework. The “influence on others” implies a leadership process, and that is why we address the role that global mindset may have in the authentic leadership development process (Avolio & Luthans, 2006).

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the requirements of leading in a global environment as perceived by the leaders participating in this study as well as the way these leaders learn and develop their global mindset.

The research methodology informed by social constructivism included in‐depth interviews with 24 global leaders that were analyzed using constant comparative and content analysis. The findings presented in this paper are part of a larger study on the meaning of global leadership and mindset. The framework for this research was guided by the Global Leadership Mindset (GLM) model developed by the authors and their colleagues.

Transcendence, plasticity of the mind (flexibility, thinking differently, rebalancing, openness, having multiple frames of reference), mindfulness, curiosity, and humility emerged as requirements of leading in the global environment. The global leaders' learning journeys were characterized by informal learning during everyday work and life experiences including learning from mistakes, and from and with others. Self‐reflection leading to the “self‐awareness of otherness” as well as reflection with others were at the core of learning and developing the global mindset of these leaders.

The findings of this study highlight the role of human resource development (HRD) professionals in facilitating self‐reflection and reflection with others – core processes for the learning and development of global mindset. HRD professionals are called to address both the “you don't know what you don't know” phenomenon by offering cross‐cultural training programs and experiential learning opportunities and the “you know what you don't know” daily challenges of global leaders and their team members. Initiatives that will incorporate self‐reflective and reflective processes will allow the participants to make meaning of their learning.

This is an initial attempt to explore the development of a global leadership mindset as informed by the GLM model with a focus on its learning component. The findings of this study could inform leaders preparing to work in global environments and HRD professionals called to develop learning environments and a learning culture in global workplaces.

We review academic journal articles, chapters in scholarly books, and dissertations that were published in the global leadership domain in 2018 and compare our findings with those of Mendenhall, Li, and Osland’s (2016) earlier review of the 2010–2014 period. Specifically, we trace and discuss relevant changes over time in the number of authors, nature of employed methodologies, linkages of global leadership to related phenomena, and the prevalence of drawing on other conceptual approaches compared to those previously used to study global leadership. We conclude by discussing implications for advancing (1) an integrated body of global leadership theory, (2) novel forms of empirical research, and (3) collaborative global leadership research.