Global leader development: an emerging research agenda

The globalization of business has challenged companies to rethink their strategies, structures, and necessary competencies of managers. The existing studies indicate that typically companies do not have enough leaders within global competencies and that competition for such resources will be even more intensive in the future. The basic prerequisite for the selection and development of global managers is that the necessary competencies of global managers are understood. On the other hand, it has been argued that this is not yet the case and thus companies do not know what competencies they should focus on. Similarly, it has been argued that the development of international competencies is not a well‐advanced process within companies. The research on these areas is still scarce. In the present paper, the literature on these areas is reviewed and, on the basis of this review, further research needs are identified.