Global marketing managers: Improving global marketing strategy through soft skill development

International Marketing Review

Volumn 30, Issue 1, 2013, Pages 21-41

  Griffith, David A ^a   Hoppner, Jessica J ^b  

^a LEHIGH UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Decision making; Global marketing managers; Marketing; Soft skills

Indexed keywords

EID: 84874178914     PISSN: 02651335     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/02651331311298555     Document Type: Article

References (122)

1. Abbasi, S.M., Hollman, K.W. (1993), "Inability to adapt: the hidden flaw of managerial ineptness" in Records Management Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 22-6.
2. Agor, W.H. (1986), The Logic of Intuitive Decision Making: A Research-Based Approach for Top Management, Quorum Books, New York, NY.
3. Akgun, A.E., Lynn, G.S., Byrne, J.C. (2006), "Antecedents and consequences of unlearning in new product development teams" in Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 73-88.
4. Andrews, J., Higson, H. (2008), "Graduate employability, 'soft skills' versus 'hard' business knowledge: a European study" in Higher Education in Europe, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 411-22.
5. Ansoff, H.I. (1988), The New Corporate Strategy, John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY.
6. Axinn, C.N., Matthyssens, P. (2002), "Limits of internationalization theories in an unlimited world" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 19, No. 5, pp. 436-49.
7. Bancino, R., Zevalkink, C. (2007), "Soft skillse" in Vol. 82, No. 5, pp. 20-2, Techniques.
8. Bandura, A. (1977), Social Learning Theory, Prentice-Hall Inc, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
9. Bandura, A. (1982), "Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency" in American Psychologist, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 122-47.
10. Barney, J. (1991), "Firm resources and sustained compititive advantage" in Journal of Management, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 99-120.
11. Bassi, L., Cheney, S., Lewis, E. (1998), "Trends in workplace learning: supply and demand in interesting times" in Training & Development, Vol. 52, No. 11, pp. 51-75.
12. Begley, T.M., Boyd, D.P. (1987), "Psychological characteristics associated with performance in entrepreneurial firms and smaller business" in Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 79-93.
13. Berthon, P., Pitt, L.F., Ewing, M.T. (2001), "Corollaries of the collective: the influence of organizational culture and memory development on perceived decision-making context" in Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 135-50.
14. Bettis, R.A., Prahalad, C.K. (1995), "The dominant logic: retrospective and extension" in Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 5-14.
15. Beyer, J.M., Chattopadhyay, P., George, E., Glick, W.H., Ogilvie, D., Pugliese, D. (1997), "The selective perception of managers revisited" in Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 716-37.
16. Bhattacharyya, S.T.M., Bhattacharyya, S. (2009), "Facilitating organizational unlearning using appreciative inquiry as an intervention" in Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 67-77.
17. Bindroo, V., Mariadoss, B.J., Pillai, R.G. (2012), "Customer clusters as sources of innovation-based competitive advantage" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 17-33.
18. Bourgeois, L.J. III, Eisenhardt, K.M. (1988), "Strategic decision processes in high velocity environments: four cases in the microcomputer industry" in Management Science, Vol. 34, No. 7, pp. 816-35.
19. Braddick, W.A.G. (1988), "How top managers really learn" in Journal of Management Development, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 55-62.
20. Brockmann, E.N., Anthony, W.P. (1998), "The influence of tacit knowledge and collective mind on strategic planning" in Journal of Managerial Issues, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 204-22.
21. Brockmann, E.N., Simmonds, P.G. (1997), "Strategic decision making: the influence of CEO experience and use of tacit knowledge" in Journal of Managerial Issues, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 454-67.
22. Buhler, P. (1997), "Managing your career: no longer your company's responsibility" in Supervision, Vol. 58, No. 11, pp. 23-6.
23. Bunder, S. (1962), "Intolerance for ambiguity as a personality variable" in Journal of Personality, Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 29-50.
24. Burgel, O., Murray, G.C. (2000), "The international market entry choices of start-up companies in high-technology industries" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 33-62.
25. Caliguiri, P., Tarique, I. (2012), "Dynamic cross-cultural competencies and global leadership effectiveness", Journal of World Business, Vol. 47, No. 4.
26. Caliguiri, P.M., Cascio, W.F. (1998), "Can we send her there? Maximizing the success of western women on global assignments" in Journal of World Business, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 394-416.
27. Camiah, N., Hollinshead, G. (2003), "Assessing the potential for effective cross-cultural working between 'new Russian managers and Western expatriates'" in Journal of World Business, Vol. 38, No. 3, pp. 245-61.
28. Camison, C., Villar, A. (2009), "Capabilities and propensity for cooperative internationalization" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 124-50.
29. Chang, T. (1996), "Cultivating global experience curve advantage on technology and marketing capabilities" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 13, No. 6, pp. 22-42.
30. Chi, M.T.H., Galser, R., Farr, M.J. (1988), The Nature of Expertise, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
31. Chong, D.S.F., van Eerde, W., Rutte, C.G., Chai, K.H. (2012), "Bringing employees closer: the effect of proximity on communication when teams function under time pressure" in Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 205-15.
32. Crosbie, R. (2005), "Learning the soft skills of leadership" in Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 45-51.
33. Dane, E., Pratt, M.G. (2007), "Exploring intuition and its role in managerial decision making" in Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 33-54.
34. Davidson, W.H. (1980), "The location of foreign direct investment activity: country characteristics and experience effects" in Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 9-22.
35. Day, D.V., Lord, R.G. (1992), "Expertise and problem categorization: the role of expert processing in organizational sense-making" in Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 35-47.
36. Diamantopoulos, A., Souchon, A.L., Durden, G.R., Axinn, C.N., Holzmuller, H.H. (2003), "Towards an understanding of cross-national similarities and differences in export information utilization: a perceptual mapping approach" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 17-43.
37. Donaldson, L. (2001), The Contingency Theory of Organizations, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
38. Douglas, S.P., Craig, C.S. (2011), "Convergence and divergence: developing a semiglobal marketing strategy" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 82-101.
39. Dutton, J.E., Ashford, S.J. (1993), "Selling issues to top management" in Academy of Management Review, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 397-428.
40. Dutton, J.E., Ashford, S.J., O'Neill, R.M., Lawrence, K.A. (2001), "Moves that matter: issue selling and organizational change" in Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 716-36.
41. Eisenhardt, K.M. (1997), "Strategic decisions and all that jazz" in Business Strategy Review, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 1-3.
42. Erramilli, M.K. (1991), "The experience factor in foreign market entry behavior of service firms" in Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 479-501.
43. Folkman, S. (1984), "Personal control and stress and coping processes: a theoretical analysis" in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 46, No. 4, pp. 839-53.
44. Gabrielsson, P., Gabrielsson, M., Seppala, T. (2012), "Marketing strategies for foreign expansion of companies originating in small and open economies: the consequences of strategic fit and performance" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 25-48.
45. Ghosh, D. (1994), "Tolerance for ambiguity, risk preference, and negotiator effectiveness" in Decision Sciences, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 263-80.
46. Gist, M.E., Mitchell, T.R. (1992), "Self-efficacy: a theoretical analysis of its determinants and malleability" in Academy of Management Review, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 183-212.
47. Goldstein, K.M., Blackman, S. (1977), "Assessment of cognitive style" in McReynold, O. (Ed.), Advanced in Psychological Assessment, Vol. 4, Jossey-Bass, San Fancisco, CA, pp. 462-525.
48. Grein, A.F., Craig, C.S., Takada, H. (2001), "Integration and responsiveness: marketing strategies of Japanese and European automobile manufacturers" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 19-50.
49. Griffith, D.A. (2006), "Human capital in the supply chains of global firms" in Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 251-63.
50. Griffith, D.A. (2010), "Understanding multi-level institutional convergence effects on international market segments and global marketing strategy" in Journal of World Business, Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 59-67.
51. Griffith, D.A., Lusch, R.F. (2007), "Getting marketers to invest in firm-specific capital" in Journal of Marketing, Vol. 71, No. 1, pp. 129-45.
52. Griffith, D.A., Kiessling, T., Dabic, M. (2012), "Aligning strategic orientation with local market conditions: implications for subsidiary knowledge management" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 379-402.
53. Gupta, A.K., Govindarajan, V. (1991), "Knowledge flows and the structure of control within multinational corporations" in Academy of Management Review, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 768-92.
54. Harvey, M., Kiessling, T.S., Novicevic, M. (2003), "Staffing marketing positions during global hyper-competitiveness: a market-based perspective" in International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 223-45.
55. Harvey, M., Griffith, D., Kiessling, T., Moeller, M. (2011), "A multi-level model of global decision-making: developing a composite global frame-of-reference" in Journal of World Business, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 177-84.
56. Harvey, M., Novicevic, M.M. (2000), "Staffing global marketing positions: what we don't know can make a difference" in Journal of World Business, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 80-94.
57. Harvey, M.G., Novicevic, M.M. (2002), "The hypercompetitive global marketplace: the importance of intuition and creativity in expatriate managers" in Journal of World Business, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 127-38.
58. Harvey, M.G., Richey, R.G. (2001), "Global supply chain management: the selection of globally competent managers" in Journal of International Management, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 105-28.
59. Harvey, M.G., Novicevic, M.M., Speier, C. (2000), "An innovative global management staffing system: a competency-based perspective" in Human Resource Management, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 381-94.
60. Hassenzahl, M. (2000), "Prioritizing usability problems: data-driven and judgment-driven severity estimates" in Behaviour and Information Technology, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 29-42.
61. Hilgard, E.R., Bower, G.H. (1966), Theories of Learning, Meredith Publishing Company, New York, NY, 3rd ed.
62. Hitt, M.A., Bierman, L., Shimizu, K., Kochhar, R. (2001), "Direct and moderating effects of human capital on strategy and performance in professional service firms: a resource-based perspective" in Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 13-28.
63. Hofstede, G., Bond, M.H. (1988), "The Confucious connection: from cultural roots to economic growth" in Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 5-21.
64. Hogarth, R.M. (1987), Judgement and Choice: The Psychology of Decision, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, NY.
65. Horvath, J.A., Williams, W.M., Forsythe, G.B., Sweeney, P.J., Sternberg, P.J., McNally, J.A., Wattendorf, J. (1994), Tacit Knowledge in Military Leadership: A Review of the Literature, US Army Research Institute for the Behavioral Social Sciences, Alexandria, VA.
66. Hultman, M., Katsikeas, C.S., Robson, M.J. (2011), "Export promotion strategy and performance: the role of international experience" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 17-39.
67. Hunt, S.D. (2000), A General Theory of Competition, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
68. Isenberg, D.J. (1984), "How senior managers think: intuition in managerial decision making" in Harvard Business Review, Vol. 62, No. 6, pp. 80-91.
69. Judge, T.A., Thoresen, C.J., Pucik, V., Welbourne, T.M. (1999), "Managerial coping with organizational change: a dispositional perspective" in Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 84, No. 1, pp. 107-22.
70. Kajs, L.T., McCollum, D.L. (2009), "Examining tolerance for ambiguity in the domain of educational leadership" in Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 1-16.
71. Katsikeas, C.A., Samiee, S., Theodosiou, M. (2006), "Strategy fit and performance consequences of international marketing standardization" in Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 27, No. 9, pp. 867-90.
72. Kaufmann, L., Roesch, J. (2012), "Constraints to building and deploying marketing capabilities by emerging market firms in advanced markets" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 1-17.
73. Kotabe, M., Dunlap-Hinkler, D., Parente, R., Mishra, H.A. (2007), "Determinants of cross-national knowledge transfer and its effect on firm innovation" in Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 259-82.
74. Kropp, F., Lindsay, N.J., Shoham, A. (2006), "Entrepreneurial, market, and learning orientations and international entrepreneurial business venture performance in South African firms" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 23, No. 5, pp. 504-23.
75. Lin, X., Miller, S.J. (2003), "Negotiation approaches: direct and indirect effect of national culture" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 286-303.
76. Ling, Y., Floyd, S., Baldridge, D. (2005), "Toward a model of issue selling by subsidiary managers in multinational organizations" in Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 36, No. 6, pp. 637-54.
77. Lu, J.W. (2002), "Intra- and inter-organizational imitative behavior: institutional influences on Japanese firm's entry mode choice" in Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 19-37.
78. Lundstrom, W.J., White, D.S., Schuster, C.P. (1996), "Internationalizing the marketing curriculum: the professional marketer's perspective" in Journal of Marketing Education, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 5-16.
79. Luthans, F., Stajovic, A.D., Ibrayeva, E. (2000), "Environmental and psychological challenges facing entrepreneurial development in transitional economies" in Journal of World Business, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 95-110.
80. McAdam, D. (1983), "Tactical innovation and the pace of insurgency" in American Sociological Review, Vol. 48, No. 6, pp. 735-54.
81. Magrath, A.J. (1997), "The importance of unlearning" in Across the Board, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 39-41.
82. Martin, M.M., Rubin, R.R. (1995), "A new measure of cognitive flexibility" in Psychological Reports, Vol. 76, No. 2, pp. 623-6.
83. Miller, M.M. (1993), "The 10-step road map to success in foreign markets" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 89-106.
84. Mobius, M.M., Niederle, M., Niehaus, P., Rosenblat, T.S. (2011), "Managing self-confidence: theory and experimental evidence", NBER, Cambridge, MA, NBER Working Paper No. 17014.
85. Moeller, M., Harvey, M. (2011), "Inpatriate marketing managers: issues associated with staffing global marketing positions" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 1-16.
86. Moorman, C., Miner, A.S. (1998), "The convergence of planning and execution: improvisation in new product development" in Journal of Marketing, Vol. 62, No. 3, pp. 1-20.
87. Nath, P., Mahajan, V. (2011), "Marketing in the c-suite: a study of chief marketing officer power in firms' top management teams" in Journal of Marketing, Vol. 75, No. 1, pp. 60-77.
88. Navarro, J.G.C., Moya, B.R. (2005), "Business performance management and unlearning process" in Knowledge and Process Management, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 161-70.
89. Nemkova, E., Souchon, A.L., Hughes, P. (2012), "Export decision-making orientation: an exploratory study" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 349-78.
90. Nguyen, T.D., Barrett, N.J. (2006), "The knowledge-creating role of the internet in international business: evidence from Vietnam" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 116-47.
91. Nieva, V.F., Gutek, B.A. (1981), Women and Work: A Psychological Perspective, Praeger, New York, NY.
92. Nutt, P.C. (1993), "Flexible decision styles and the choices of top executives" in Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 30, No. 5, pp. 695-721.
93. Overell, S. (1996), "Learning to unlearn for a flexible future" in People Management, Vol. 2, No. 9, p. 14.
94. Oyen, H.B. (1998), "Thriving on pressure" in Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 18, British Journal of Administrative Management.
95. Ozsomer, A., Gencturk, E. (2003), "A resource-based model of market learning in the subsidiary: the capabilities of exploration and exploitation" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 1-29.
96. Padmanabhan, P., Cho, K.R. (1999), "Decision specific experience in foreign ownership and establishment strategies: evidence from Japanese firms" in Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 25-43.
97. Paik, Y., Sohn, J.D. (2004), "Expatriate managers and MNC's ability to control international subsidiaries: the case of Japanese MNCs" in Journal of World Business, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 61-71.
98. Park, C., Vertinsky, I., Lee, C. (2012), "Korean international joint ventures: how the exchange climate affects tacit knowledge transfer from foreign parents" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 151-74.
99. Pauwels, P., Matthyssens, P. (2004), "Strategic flexibility in export expansion: growing through withdrawal" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 496-510.
100. Pederson, T., Peterson, B. (2004), "Learning about foreign markets: are entrant firms exposed to a 'Shock Effect'?" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 103-23.
101. Peteraf, M.A. (1993), "The cornerstones of competitive advantage: a resource-based view" in Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 179-91.
102. Polanyi, M. (1966), The Tacit Dimension, Anchor Books, Garden City, NY.
103. Ray, M., Myers, R. (1989), "Practical intuition" in Agor, W.H. (Ed.), Intuition in Organizations: Leading and Managing Proactively, Sage, Newbury Park, CA, pp. 247-61.
104. Reber, A. (1989), "Implicit learning and tacit knowledge" in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Vol. 118, No. 3, pp. 219-35.
105. Riesenberger, J.R. (1998), "Knowledge: the source of sustainable competitive advantage" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 94-107.
106. Rifkin, G. (2006), "Building better global managers" in Harvard Management Update, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 3-6.
107. Robson, M.H., Schlegelmilch, B.B., Bojkowszky, B. (2012), "Resource-deployment stability and performance in international research-and-development alliances: a self-determination theory" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 1-18.
108. Ryans, J.K. Jr, Griffith, D.A., White, S.D. (2003), "Standardization/adaptation of international marketing strategy" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 20, No. 6, pp. 588-603.
109. Sharma, M.K., Sushil, Jain, P.K. (2010), "Revisiting flexibility in organizations: exploring its impact on performance" in Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 51-68.
110. Shoham, A. (1999), "Bounded rationality, planning, standardization of international strategy, and export performance: a structural model examination" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 24-50.
111. Simon, H. (1989), "Making management decisions: the role of intuition and emotion" in Agor, W.H. (Ed.), Intuition in Organizations: Leading and Managing Proactively, Sage, Newbury Park, CA, pp. 23-39.
112. Solovy, A. (1999), "The unlearning curve" in Hospitals & Health Networks, Vol. 73, No. 1, p. 30.
113. Souchon, A.L., Diamantopoulos, A. (1996), "A conceptual framework of export marketing information use: key issues and research propositions" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 49-71.
114. Souchon, A.L., Sy-Changco, J.A., Dewsnap, B. (2012), "Learning orientation in export functions: impact on export growth" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 175-202.
115. Sousa, C.M.P., Ruzo, E., Losada, F. (2010), "The key role of managers' value in exporting: influence on customer responsiveness and export performance" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 1-19.
116. Vaughan, F.E. (1979), Awakening Intuition, Anchor Press, Oxford.
117. Wagner, R.K., Sternberg, R.J. (1986), "Tacit knowledge and intelligence in the everyday world" in Sternberg, R.J. and Wagner, R.K. (Eds.), Practical Intelligence: Nature and Origins of Competence in the Everyday World, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, pp. 380-95.
118. Xu, S., Cavusgil, S.T., White, J.C. (2006), "The impact of strategic fit among strategy, structure, and processes on multinational corporation performance: a multimethod assessment" in Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 1-31.
119. Yeoh, P. (2004), "International learning: antecedents and performance implications among newly internationalizing companies in an exporting context" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 511-35.
120. Yeoh, P. (2005), "A conceptual framework of antecedents of information search in exporting: importance of ability and motivation" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 165-98.
121. Zou, H., Ghauri, P.N. (2010), "Internationalizing by learning: the case of Chinese high-tech new ventures" in International Marketing Review, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 223-44.
122. Zou, S., Cavusgil, S.T. (2002), "The GMS: a broad conceptualization of global marketing strategy and its effect on firm performance" in Journal of Marketing, Vol. 66, No. 4, pp. 40-56.