Global leadership and organizational behaviour effectiveness (GLOBE)

GLOBE (Global leadership and organizational behaviour effectiveness) is a long-term multi-phase, multi-methodological programme of cross-cultural research designed to conceptualise, operationalise, test and validate a cross-level integrated theory of the relationship between culture and societal, organisational and leadership effectiveness. A team of scholars have worked together since 1994 to study societal culture, organisational culture and the attributes of effective leadership in various cultures. GLOBE has become one of the largest and most comprehensive studies of its kind in the social sciences.

Globe 2020

GLOBE 2020 is the third phase of the GLOBE mission, consisting of two considerable and rigorous studies. Study 1 focuses on the drivers and dynamics of cultural change and trust building in societies. Study 2 focuses on the relationship between national culture, leadership and important organisational practices, i.e. cultural influences on leadership with regards to specific HR practices, employee career strategies, attitudes and performance. The researchers will build on the past two decades of findings and focus on two important research questions:

• To what extent have the cultures of the countries in the original GLOBE study changed and what are the major societal drivers of any cultural changes?
• What is the relationship between national culture and the dynamics of trust building in different countries?

In addition, GLOBE 2020 will collect cultural information from a large number of the countries in Africa and the Middle East that were not included in the original GLOBE study.

Globe 2025

Globe 2025 operates under the title: "GLOBE 2025: Buffering the Suffering & Driving the Thriving in the New World of Work: A Study of How Societal Context Affects Capabilities, Jobs, Meaningfulness and Key Work-Life Outcomes around the Globe."

In this fourth phase, the researchers aim to add insights into both “the great reckoning” in the world of work as well as into career outcomes around the world (including work-life outcomes) while also utilising GLOBE culture and leadership variables as societal level moderators.

The researchers will target gathering human, social and positive psychological capital, job design, crafting, meaningfulness, engagement, career success, stress, burnout, loneliness, retention, thriving, well-being and other data from front-line workers, managers, and leaders from 130+ countries representing more than 90% of the world’s population and GDP, making this, as far as it is known, the largest careers study ever attempted.  Why this study and why now? The reality is that employees and employers around the world are still facing many fundamental challenges in the workplace and many workers feeling social isolated, stressed, under-engaged and far from thriving with many in the throes of what has been alternatively referred to as the “great reassessment”, “great jobs reckoning”, “great resignation”, and sometimes even after switching to new jobs, the “great regret”.

Prof. Dr. Maike Andresen is a member of the global research project. She plays a significant role in the conduct of the on-site research activities in Germany such as data collection, participation in instrument design and data analysis and the creation of reports, documents, publications, etc.

Project goals

• Identification of and information on drivers and dynamics of cultural change and trust building in societies.
• Findings on the relationship between national culture, leadership and important organisational practices.
• Continuation of over 20 years of collaborative work conducted by the GLOBE research team.
• Data collection of cultural information from a large number of countries, including those that were not part of the original GLOBE study.

This phase of the GLOBE project will use the original instruments with a few additional questions in order to survey mid-level managers in the original GLOBE countries. Furthermore, it will implement a newly designed instrument. As of today, over 52.000 responses have been received. A total of 426 Country Co-Investigators (CCIs) are working on the project, collecting data in 144 countries. The surveys are available in 60 languages. 95,91 % of the world population and 99,04 % of world GDP are represented in GLOBE 2020 so far.

In times when different cultures of the world become more and more interconnected, the business world is increasingly global and economic borders crumble, cultural barriers will present new challenges for the corporate world. Consequently, there is a greater need for effective cross-cultural communication, collaboration and cooperation, not only for the management practices but also for the betterment of the human condition. When cultures come into contact, they may converge on some aspects, but their idiosyncrasies will likely amplify. The information resulting from the GLOBE study can be used as a guide for intercultural encounters.

Its research programme studies the cultures of particular countries and leadership qualities within those countries in order to provide recommendations on how managers should conduct business in countries other than their own. Data from the study will appeal to scholars in leadership, management, international business and cultural studies, as well as practicing managers.

Prof. Dr. Maike Andresen is a research member of the global research project. She will play a significant role in the project, which is comprised of the following tasks:

• Review the created instruments and provide feedback.
• Manage translation and reverse translation of the instruments for their use in Germany.
• Participate in virtual meetings to share ideas, questions and concerns, and to receive updates.
• Find research participants in Germany.
• Manage timely data collection in Germany.
• Help in the creation of relevant databases.
• Participate in virtual meetings to exchange ideas on survey results.
• Provide interpretation of results that pertain to Germany and to the overall meaningfulness of the project.
• Disseminate findings through publications, conference presentations, etc.