Fortune 500 companies with headquarters in developed economies will fall to less than 55% by 2025 from 75% in 2013. 7 out of 10 new large companies will come from emerging markets.
Developing deep cultural understanding and a sense of global citizenship can only be achieved through immersive, location-based activities. In addition, geographic diversity among senior management helps. A current trend (i.e., Caterpillar, GE) is to split corporate centers to share decision-making, production, and R&D (Source: McKinsey).
GE decentralized P&L responsibility, product and go-to market authority to select country businesses. To complement their centralized global marketing, Coke created a distribution model around strong individual franchisee relationships/localized distribution. Nestle initiated the Global Business Excellence (GLOBE) initiative to create a common set of global better practices and a common IT infrastructure. Starwood moves their headquarters overseas for month-long rotations (i.e., Mumbai, Shanghai and Dubai) (Source: BCG).
How does your company executive team build global citizenship?
