{"id":9214,"date":"2022-12-12T09:16:26","date_gmt":"2022-12-12T07:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/escp.eu\/thechoice\/?p=9214"},"modified":"2023-02-17T16:49:07","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T14:49:07","slug":"executive-career-success-how-to-cash-in-on-international-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/escp.eu\/thechoice\/tomorrow-choices\/executive-career-success-how-to-cash-in-on-international-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Executive career success: how to cash in on international experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Overseeing the construction of a new factory in Brazil, chatting with the manager of a subsidiary in Germany, attending a board meeting in London, it’s all in a day’s work for the leading executive of a multinational corporation. To accomplish all these tasks though, you arguably need a certain background, not least foreign language skills and cultural sensitivity to understand local nuances and customs. How better could this baggage have been acquired than through international experience? As firms operate in an increasingly globalised environment, it seems likely that they value managers who are able to navigate such contexts \u2013 and are willing to reward them accordingly.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, \u2018international experience\u2019 is a general term<\/strong> \u2013 how much time do you need to have spent, say, in Japan to master the subtleties of local business etiquette and successfully negotiate with Japanese partners? And would it have to be in one stretch or would repeated visits prove just as useful? Does studying abroad count as well? Also, how do such skills really translate into more generous paychecks or seats on corporate boards?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn recent decades, the career paths of managers and professionals have become more international, and a shortage of <\/strong>truly transnational managers<\/strong><\/a> has been identified<\/strong>,\u201d explains a team of researchers from ESCP Business School\u2019s Paris and Berlin campuses in a paper demonstrating the importance of international business education<\/a> for career success. \u201cSuch managers and professionals must possess certain knowledge, qualifications and competencies<\/a>. Accordingly, business education programs have evolved to produce these new, \u2018cosmopolitan\u2019 managers<\/a>.\u201d This explains some schools\u2019 efforts to develop specific skills, like ESCP\u2019s innovative, award-winning serious game<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why experience abroad is valuable \u2013 and valued<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In recent research<\/a> showing how different facets of a CEO’s international background shape remuneration, professor Stefan Schmid and then-PhD candidate Sebastian Baldermann found evidence that \u201cearlier and manifold international education experiences are particularly valuable.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To explain why international work experience matters in the first place, they used human capital theory. Its basic assumption is that an individual’s characteristics transfer into his or her ability to perform certain tasks or jobs. In short, work experience abroad enhances innovativeness, creativity, adaptability and other characteristics that help to cope with a globalised business world.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With former PhD student Frederic Altfeld, Stefan Schmid had previously shown that<\/a> working abroad provides<\/strong> CFOs with valuable knowledge and skills that increase compensation. <\/strong>In another paper<\/a> published with former colleague Paul Pronobis and Tobias Dauth (HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management), he even demonstrated that\u201cCFOs\u2019 international education and international work experience are important factors in higher accounting quality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Experience, including international experience, can have different effects on different dimensions of career success.<\/p>\n

Stefan Schmid<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Indeed, multinational corporations (MNCS)depend on human capital resources to build their competitive advantage: \u201cFirms can rely on individuals who are able to deal not only with a challenging external environment, but also the intricate cultures and expectations that prevail in many large organizations operating across borders.\u201d<\/strong>

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MNCs will therefore attempt to attract internationally seasoned executives, whose human capital they view \u201cnot only as valuable, but also as a rare and inimitable resource\u201d.<\/strong> They also need to be retained or recruited with adequate salaries. Even more so in the context of the escalating \u201cwar for talent\u201d which according to some other colleagues\u2019 research calls for specific management practices<\/a>. In addition, top managers with valuable prior experience may have a stronger influence on the decisions made in MNCs, including those regarding their own compensation, so they are likely to bargain attractive packages for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you have too much of a good thing?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Based on Stefan Schmid\u2019s extensive research on international experience, there are several<\/strong> dimensions to consider for career success<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n