Thoughts on Business Leadership in Emerging Markets: A Side Effect of Economic Colonialism or Simply Poor Management?

Abstract

The strategic function of a top business leader, with its vision‐forming, persuading, and control abilities, spans much of what has been traditionally viewed as the field of leadership research. While some leaders speak or write about leadership without having led many businesses, others who have led lack the capacity for reflection which is necessary to explain what it is that they do. Yet, most leaders seem to have something to say, and they find eager listeners. Are MBA candidates being misled by the business press and thus are unable to tell a real leader from a fraud? Or is it that those we call business leaders today are only figureheads propelled by those toiling beneath them? This commentary focuses on thoughts centered on the rim of contention: business leadership in Brazil. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Organizational memory and institution theory: A postcolonial perspective

“…According to Bhaumik, Estrin, and Mickiewicz (2017) organizations in emerging markets often resort to bricolage by adapting the knowledge from developed economies to local conditions (Behrens, 2013). What we see here is that organizational memory that has its origins outside the organization can merge into the dominant narrative of the organization and can present itself as a complementary (Said, 1983) or a Supplementary (Bhabha, 1990) narrative to the dominant discourse, and in the process change the nature of the dominant discourse itself.…”

The demise of the American hegemony in international business research has been greatly exaggerated

“…Still today, it is difficult to find International Business research published in Brazil's top business journals. Besides, Brazilian business graduates face a two‐track career: either they work at multinationals or at large family businesses (Behrens, 2013). At neither are Brazilian professional managers expected to pursue high‐level decision making such as venturing into international markets or developing new products.…”

Leader Behavior Expectations from a Gender Perspective: An Extension of the LEAD Study in Mexico

“…The fact is that modern organizations need to tap into diverse groups of talented workers to help them succeed in the highly competitive environments that they face today (Schein, 2001;Kellerman, 2012;Lewis, 2018). Part of the problem is that research on leadership and leader development tends to be scarce in developing countries, which means that academics and practitioners have access to a limited amount of literature that can help them understand effective management practices in some of the most dynamic markets in the world (Behrens, 2013). Research on leadership across cultures can be helpful to better understand the gender gap in leadership because females and males adjust their style of leadership in accordance with cultural norms (Eagly & Johannesen-Schmidt, 2001).…”