Strategic Leaders in Multinational Enterprises: A Role-Specific Microfoundational View and Research Agenda

Dimitrios Georgakakis; Mads Wedell-Wedellsborg; Tommaso Vallone; Peder Greve

doi:10.1057/s41267-022-00582-y

Strategic Leaders in Multinational Enterprises: A Role-Specific Microfoundational View and Research Agenda

Dimitrios Georgakakis, Mads Wedell-Wedellsborg, Tommaso Vallone, Peder Greve^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

The York Management School

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Strategic leadership research in the field of international business (IB) explains how the actions and outcomes of multinational enterprises (MNE) vary with the attributes and interactions of their key decision-makers – i.e., their strategic leaders. Yet, whilst the importance of strategic leadership has gained momentum in IB, we lack a systematic understanding of the roles that strategic leaders enact in the MNE context. This omission is critical, as understanding the distinctive roles of IB decision-makers is a key prerequisite for establishing uniqueness in this emerging research field. In this study, we elaborate on the theoretical foundations of five IB strategic leadership roles and outline how the MNE context fundamentally shapes their uniqueness. Our perspective presents each of the five roles as distinctly shaped by two core microfoundational processes – bounded rationality (BRat) and bounded reliability (BRel) – which intensify the challenges facing MNE strategic leaders in their role enactment. Acknowledging that IB strategic leaders perform multiple roles simultaneously and interdependently, we conclude with an overall synthesis and guide for future research that moves toward a multi-role and multi-level understanding of IB strategic leadership.

Original language	English
Number of pages	24
Journal	JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STUDIES
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-022-00582-y
Publication status	Published - 17 Jan 2023

Bibliographical note

© 2022 Academy of International Business. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details

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Cite this

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abstract = "Strategic leadership research in the field of international business (IB) explains how the actions and outcomes of multinational enterprises (MNE) vary with the attributes and interactions of their key decision-makers – i.e., their strategic leaders. Yet, whilst the importance of strategic leadership has gained momentum in IB, we lack a systematic understanding of the roles that strategic leaders enact in the MNE context. This omission is critical, as understanding the distinctive roles of IB decision-makers is a key prerequisite for establishing uniqueness in this emerging research field. In this study, we elaborate on the theoretical foundations of five IB strategic leadership roles and outline how the MNE context fundamentally shapes their uniqueness. Our perspective presents each of the five roles as distinctly shaped by two core microfoundational processes – bounded rationality (BRat) and bounded reliability (BRel) – which intensify the challenges facing MNE strategic leaders in their role enactment. Acknowledging that IB strategic leaders perform multiple roles simultaneously and interdependently, we conclude with an overall synthesis and guide for future research that moves toward a multi-role and multi-level understanding of IB strategic leadership.",

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