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Researchers and practitioners are interested in developing frameworks that can improve the understanding of the emerging field of global talent management (GTM) within and across the subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs). A few studies have proposed such frameworks but only implicitly include constructs at different levels of analysis. This paper is a step toward bridging the gap. Grounded in multi-level theory, international human resources management (IHRM) frameworks, and the ability-motivation-opportunity model, the purpose of this paper is to develop a multi-level framework that describes the processes through which antecedents at four levels of analysis affect a subsidiary’s GTM system, which in turn directly affects outcomes at three levels of analysis.

This paper develops a multi-level framework that describes the processes through which antecedents at four levels of analysis affect a subsidiary’s GTM system. Along with including four levels of analysis and highlighting cross-level interactions in our proposed multi-level framework, several testable propositions are offered.

The framework developed in this paper depicts the causal relationship between the subsidiary IHRM strategy (subsidiary level) and subsidiary GTM system (subsidiary level), and the several moderating variables that specify conditions under which the subsidiary IHRM Strategy affects a subsidiary GTM system. The moderator variables include national culture distance (country level), MNE headquarters (HQ) orientation (MNE HQ level), and the required dynamic cross-cultural competencies (expatriate level). In addition, the framework shows the outcomes of a subsidiary’s GTM system across three levels: knowledge transfer (MNE HQ level), localization (subsidiary level), and cross-cultural learning (expatriate level). In the context of multi-level analyses (the authors discuss this next), the framework shows several top-down processes (e.g. P2, P4 and P5) and several bottom-up processes (e.g. P3 and P7).

The proposed multi-level framework describes important antecedents and outcomes of a subsidiary’s GTM system, and proposes several propositions for future empirical and theoretical research that could be the focus of a systematic research program and agenda on GTM in subsidiaries. In addition, the proposed framework enables us to advance the GTM literature by improving the understanding of and offering insights about the GTM system of a subsidiary, and specifically contribute to research in IHRM and GTM in a number of ways.

Existing scholarly GTM frameworks used by practitioners do not take into account the multi-level complexities that exist when a subsidiary IHRM strategy may not align with the subsidiary GTM system. As such, both practitioners and researchers would benefit by adopting a multi-level framework that accounts for these complexities and how they interact with one another to influence the way subsidiaries manage their expatriate talent.

By using multi-level theory to examine subsidiary GTM systems, the authors advance both the GTM literature and the IHRM literature. Overall, this paper attempts to shift the focus of each subsidiary’s GTM system to a broader, multi-level perspective and contribute to new theory building in GTM research, specifically in subsidiary GTM-MNE research and provide some thoughtful suggestions for HR practitioners wanting to enhance the effectiveness of their MNEs.

The “adult third culture kid” (ATCK) is an individual who has spent significant periods of childhood living outside his or her parents’ culture(s). Research is needed to identify specific experiential variables responsible for the development of components of cross-cultural competencies (CC) in ATCKs. The goal of this study is to gain insight into these relationships and provide a foundation for continuing investigation by examining how early international experience and personality variables impact CC in ATCKs. Specifically, the study examines how four components of early international experience and two characteristics of stable CC impact three dynamic characteristics of CC.

Study participants (159) had spent their childhood years living in one or more foreign countries. In all, 54 percent of the sample was women, and the average age was 22 (SD=1.52). None of the subjects had any international work experience, allowing us to look at the impact of non-work experience without the confounding effect found in other research of this type. Data were collected at the beginning and end of a three-week period.

There are five important predictors of CC in ATCKs: variety of early international experience (number of different countries lived in), language diversity (the number of languages they speak), family diversity (the number of different ethnicities in their family's background), and the personality trait of openness to experience.

The generalizability of study findings is limited by the nature and size of the sample. In addition, the single source sample of this study is also a limitation, as single source samples are subject to common method bias. We reduced this potential bias by using a time lag (Podsakoff et al., 2003) to create a temporal separation between the measurement of the predictors and the dependent variables, a procedural remedy suggested by Podsakoff et al. (2003).

The practical uses for the findings of this study by human resource management (HRM) professionals are in the areas of hiring and assignment of expatriate managers. Study findings provide HRM professionals with an initial set of criteria to assist in the process of identification and training of expatriate managers. Global organizations have traditionally used training to increase the pool of effective global managers. This study provides initial evidence that identification of individuals with early international experiences should prove a useful addition to the process of selecting candidates for foreign assignment.

The practical uses for the findings of this study by HRM professionals are in the areas of hiring and assignment of expatriate managers. Study findings provide HRM professionals with an initial set of criteria to assist in the process of identification and training of expatriate managers. Global organizations have traditionally used training to increase the pool of effective global managers. This study provides initial evidence that identification of individuals with early international experiences should prove a useful addition to the process of selecting candidates for foreign assignment.

To the best of our knowledge this is one of the first studies to empirically examine ATCKs and provides a starting point for future researchers in this area. Obtaining a sample of ATCKs is extremely challenging.

Paula Caligiuri set the stage and, with Ibraiz Tarique, pioneered the first direct studies on global leadership effectiveness and the boundary conditions that influence it. Paula is a D'Amore-McKim School of Business Distinguished Professor of International Business and Strategy at Northeastern University and business consultant. Researching in the areas of expatriate management, global leadership development, and cultural agility, Paula has authored or coauthored several articles and books – including Cultural Agility: Building a Pipeline of Successful Global Professionals and Build Your Cultural Agility. She has been a frequent expert guest on CNN and CNN International and is an instructor for a LinkedIn Learning course entitled Managing Globally. In 2021, Paula was named a semifinalist for the Forbes “50 over 50” for cofounding a public benefit corporation, Skiilify, to help foster cultural understanding more broadly. Based on her significant research contributions, she is a Fellow in both the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Academy of International Business and has been a Senior Editor for the Journal of World Business and an Area Editor for the Journal of International Business Studies.

In this chapter we examine the individual-level accelerators of global leadership development as they affect the acquisition of cross-cultural competencies through both cross-cultural training and developmental cross-cultural experiences. Individuals’ cognitive ability, prior knowledge, and personality traits will accelerate the knowledge they gain from cross-cultural training. Their personality characteristics, language skills, motivation, and prior experience will facilitate the development of cross-cultural competencies from high-quality international experiences. We highlight an aptitude × treatment interaction approach whereby the level of a given individual-level attribute affects how global leaders will respond to instructional methods, cross-cultural experiences, or developmental opportunities. The chapter suggests that global leaders’ individual differences can accelerate (or possibly impede) the developmental gains in their cross-cultural competencies.

The media often portray business organizations as warring enemies who define their own success by the demise of their competitors. Executives sometimes use similar imagery to motivate their “troops.” What such images ignore are the strong interdependencies among business organizations and the degree to which cooperation results in mutual gains. Just as nations have discovered the benefits of economic cooperation, businesses have learned that success often depends on forming strategic alliances.

This paper aims to understand how these competencies gained will help human resource (HR) leaders become more strategic about when and how to use global mobility for talent development.

In this paper, the author defines the construct of cultural agility and describes the theoretical mechanisms through which employees can gain cultural agility through culturally novel situations such as global mobility. Cultural agility enables individuals to work comfortably and effectively with people from different cultures and in situations of cultural novelty. People with cultural agility have task-management competencies (cultural minimization, adaptation and integration), self-management competencies (tolerance of ambiguity, resilience, curiosity) and relationship-management competencies (humility, relationship building and perspective taking).

This study aims at focusing on the development of cultural agility, this paper focuses on four cascading features of a culturally novel experience that can help individuals gain this competence: (1) the level of cultural novelty in the experience, (2) the readiness of an individual for that level of cultural novelty, (3) the individual's level of awareness of the cultural norms and values inherent in the culturally novel experience and (4) the level of social support offered to that individual to learn how to understand and respond in that experience.

Each feature is discussed, concluding with the implications for future research and practitioners in global mobility and talent development.