Research on women in international business and management: then, now, and next

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address the paradox that represents a shortage of women in management and senior leadership positions around the world, while research has consistently shown that having women in positions of influence leads to noteworthy organizational benefits, as guest editors for this special issue, the authors provide an overview of four key streams of cross-cultural research on gender – women in international management, anthropology and gender, women’s leadership, and women’s entrepreneurship – which have been fairly well-developed but remain underexplored. Design/methodology/approach Each author led the review of the scholarly literature stream that aligned most with personal research areas of expertise, while particularly focusing each literature review on the status of each body of work in relation to the topic of women and gender in international business and management. Findings The authors encourage future work on the role of women and gender (including gay, lesbian, and transgender) in cross-cultural management, and the influence of cross-cultural matters on gender. In addition to new research on obstacles and biases faced by women in management, the authors hope to see more scholarship on the benefits that women bring to their organizations. Practical implications New research could aim to provide specific evidence-based recommendations for: how organizations and individuals can work to develop more gender diversity in management and senior positions around the world, and encourage more women to start and grow bigger businesses. Social implications Scholars can lead progress on important gender issues and contribute to quality information that guides politicians, organizational leaders, new entrants to the workforce. Originality/value This is the first paper to cover these topics and review the body of work on cross-cultural research on women in international business and management. The authors hope it serves as a useful launch pad for scholars conducting new research in this domain.

Are international small business owners really that different?

“…While the international business (IB) and entrepreneurship literatures are well-developed, the experiences of female small business owners as they internationalize remains a nascent area of research (Adler, 2004;Bullough et al, 2017;Henry et al, 2015;Kobeissi, 2010). Holmquist and Carter (2009: 122) argue that female entrepreneurship is the "area with the largest discrepancy among perceived research importance (in terms of number and extent of projects, researchers and publications on the subject) and social and economic importance (in terms of numbers and extent of the phenomenon)".…”

Onboarding New Employees Taking Into Account Gender Differences

“…There is no certainty in the question -who better adapts to a particular field of activity -men or women. Men and women interact with others in different ways and react differently to working situations, get used to new conditions differently (Bullough, Moore, & Kalafatoglu, 2017).…”

Investments in the public sector of economy and shortage of certainty on the way of Russia’s mastering of modern economic mechanisms

“…Charisma is defined as a set of behavior norms and traits of character that encourage other people to respect and follow a leader (Powell, 2011). Capabilities of being a good team member, attracting the best talents for common goal achievement, managing a team effectively and being able to collaborate (Bullough, Moore, & Kalafatoglu, 2017) are extremely important in e-commerce where teams are virtual, of different cultures and geographical locations. 35 factors of personal competences were distinguished based on scientific literature results (Table 1).…”

“…Management competency involves certain professional, personal and methodological competencies (Raudeliūnienė & Neimontas, 2012;Kubeš et al 2018). Scientists underline that successful women leaders distinguish themselves as effective managers because of the ability to influence and motivate their subordinates to reach organization's goals, to be charismatic visionaries changing their organizations (Bullough et al, 2017;Evans, 2014). Social competency reflects on the individual's social behavior and expresses adaptive and effective functioning in certain situations (Raudeliūnienė & Neimontas, 2012).…”