Top Management Teams' Competencies for International Operations: Do they Influence a Firm's Result?

Abstract

Firms currently face numerous challenges when they operate abroad. To overcome these challenges many researchers define a set of vital factors that influence companies' successful operations in international markets. Among others, an important factor is the competencies of the top management team (TMT), which significantly influence an organisation's results. Currently, there is a lack of studies either observing the role of TMTs' competencies when a company decides to operate internationally or proving that a top manager's competencies are related to a firm's performance. To fill that gap, this paper explores how a TMT's competencies are associated with the realisation of a firm's international operations. The findings indicate that there is a strong correlation between top management competencies and the successful realisation of a firm's operations in international markets. Moreover, the evidence suggests that the most significant competencies for this are superior cognitive and analytical capabilities, ability to create and to use foreign contacts, project aptitude, and ability to create multicultural interaction. The research is based on the evidence of Russian companies operating in foreign markets.