Martha Maznevski is Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Faculty Director for Executive Education at Ivey. She is an expert in global teams, global leadership, culture and identity, and empowering individual differences. She has published widely on these topics in academic and management arenas, and also works closely with leaders and their companies around the world on innovative approaches to leadership at all levels in today’s highly complex global environment.
Dr. Maznevski completed her Ph.D. at Ivey with research on multicultural teams, and has expanded that research stream throughout her career. She publishes the popular textbook International Management Behavior, now in its 7th edition, with Ivey professors emeriti H. Lane and J. DiStefano. Her research has been published in leading journals including Journal of International Business Studies and Strategic Management Journal. Her current research unlocks the performance dynamics of lateral teams – teams that coordinate across multi-unit organizations such as global key account teams or matrixed product or function groups.
Prior to joining Ivey as a Professor, Dr. Maznevski served fifteen years as Professor at IMD (Institute for Management Development) in Switzerland. She developed, directed, and taught in open and custom executive education programs for senior leaders, including CEOs, from a wide range of industries and in countries around the world. She also directed IMD’s globally top-ranked MBA program. Prior to IMD, she was an Assistant Professor at University of Virginia. She has served as a consultant and advisor to public and private organizations in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia on challenges and opportunities of managing people globally, and she works frequently with global humanitarian and conservation NGOs.
Teaching
Leading People in Organizations (HBA)
Global Management Practices (MSc)
Education
B.A. (Hon) Western University, Anthropology & Linguistics
B.Ed. University of Toronto
Ph.D. Western University, Business Administration (Organizational Behaviour)
Abstract: Purpose: This paper challenges the assumption in cross-cultural research of liability of foreignness (LOF). The literature review demonstrates that LOF comes from pressures for isomorphism, while asset of foreignness (AOF) can derive from the active process of breaking norms. The purpose of this paper is to explore how leaders can initiate and sustain AOF.
Design/methodology/approach: The paper analyzes the case of the Nissan revival led by Carlos Ghosn and the impact in the years after. The analysis is based on the authors’ interviews and discussions with Ghosn and senior leaders at Nissan and Renault, complemented with published interviews and assessments.
Findings: Analysis confirmed the potential for AOF, and further uncovered four patterns of behavior that created AOF virtuous cycles among Nissan leaders: initiating trust, shaping identity, anchoring and transcending common language, and acting positively on ignorance. The virtuous cycles were sustainable and transformed into new global strategic perspectives.
Research limitations/implications: The paper proposes a research model identifying moderators between foreignness and performance. Generalizability is limited by the focus on a single case study.
Practical implications: The four sets of behaviors can serve as guides to action for leaders when working in foreign contexts.
Originality/value: This research goes beneath the surface of a famous example to analyze leadership dynamics over time, and provides insight on positive aspects of foreignness.
Abstract: This paper reviews workforce diversity literature and its research findings. We identify important gaps between the literature and the challenges of diversity management. These gaps include lack of organizational level analysis, tokenism, and artificially constructed research settings that cannot address a variety of cultural contexts. Furthermore, most studies do not investigate underlying beliefs and values or managerial interventions. We conclude that the diversity field itself is not very diverse and has been dominated by US-centric research. We provide suggestions for future research themes: language diversity, cultural contextualization of diversity, and social class diversity.
Abstract: Current research on multicultural teams tends to exhibit a bias towards studying the negative effects of team diversity more than the positive. This negative bias has limited our understanding of the conditions that promote the benefits of diversity and of the mechanisms that foster these benefits. In this article, we highlight a complementary perspective, namely the idea that cultural diversity and cultural differences can be an asset rather than a liability. This perspective has been present in the practitioner and anecdotal literature, but has thus far not received much rigorous research attention. Using a lens of Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS), we draw upon recent research on cultural diversity in teams to explore the positive aspects of cross-cultural dynamics in teams and identify some of the processes underlying these effects in more rigorous ways, proposing a future research agenda.
Abstract: Purpose
– Are there “really” gender differences in leadership? Do beliefs regarding gender differences in leadership differ across cultures? And how do these beliefs influence diversity management? This article aims to demonstrate how different beliefs regarding gender differences and leadership can influence company diversity policies and initiatives.
Design/methodology/approach
– First, the authors review the research evidence on the relationship between gender and leadership. Then they explore the effects of gender stereotyping. Furthermore, they consider the role of culture on these beliefs. This review serves as the foundation for the discussion of three different perspectives regarding gender and leadership: gender-blind; gender-conscious; and perception-creates-reality (or believing is seeing).
Findings
– Adhering to these different paradigms can influence actions taken to managing diversity and human resource policies. Revealing these different paradigms can help companies and managers reassess their diversity practices.
Originality/value
– The paper discusses issues that are of interest to all levels of managers.
Abstract: Previous research on the role of cultural diversity in teams is equivocal, suggesting that cultural diversity's effect on teams is mediated by specific team processes, and moderated by contextual variables. To reconcile conflicting perspectives and past results, we propose that cultural diversity affects teams through process losses and gains associated with increased divergence and decreased convergence. We examine whether the level (surface-level vs deep-level) and type (cross-national vs intra-national) of cultural diversity affect these processes differently. We hypothesize that task complexity and structural aspects of the team, such as team size, team tenure, and team dispersion, moderate the effects of cultural diversity on teams. We test the hypotheses with a meta-analysis of 108 empirical studies on processes and performance in 10,632 teams. Results suggest that cultural diversity leads to process losses through task conflict and decreased social integration, but to process gains through increased creativity and satisfaction. The effects are almost identical for both levels and types of cultural diversity. Moderator analyses reveal that the effects of cultural diversity vary, depending on contextual influences, as well as on research design and sample characteristics. We propose an agenda for future research, and identify implications for managers.
Thomas, D., Stahl, G., Ravlin, E., Poelmans, S., Pekerti, A., Maznevski, M.L., Lazarova, M., Elron, E., Ekelund, B., Cerdin, J-L., Brislin, R., Aycan, Z., Au, K.,
2008, "Cultural Intelligence Domain and Assessment", International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, August 8(2): 123 - 144.
Abstract: The construct of cultural intelligence, recently introduced to the management literature, has enormous potential in helping to explain effectiveness in cross cultural interactions. However, at present, no generally accepted definition or operationalization of this nascent construct exists. In this article, we develop a conceptualization of cultural intelligence that addresses a number of important limitations of previous definitions. We present a concise definition of cultural intelligence as a system of interacting abilities, describe how these elements interact to produce culturally intelligent behavior, and then identify measurement implications.
Abstract: We examined perceptions of managers from four Western European cultural groups about women's and men's leadership. Participants from every cultural group perceived reliable gender-based differences in leadership effectiveness. While some stereotypes varied across cultures, stereotyping patterns were more often linked to participants' gender than to their cultural beliefs. Unexpectedly, gender stereotypes of leaders were least prevalent among Latin respondents compared to those from more egalitarian cultures. In the Nordic and Anglo groups, male participants' stereotypes disparaged women's performance at the most valued leadership competencies. The implications for women's leadership advancement in these different cultural contexts are discussed.
Abstract: Complexity is currently often considered the latest business buzzword—it reflects a current common reality. This chapter focuses on complexity, a real leadership challenge, which every executive faces in today's world. Initially, complexity was multiplied to its current heightened level because globalization entails a far-reaching erosion of boundaries, a process that is still ongoing. Many types of boundaries have faded: trade liberalization has substantially alleviated the flow of goods, capital, people, and knowledge around the globe. However, the world has clearly moved beyond the key triad markets. Subsequently, internationalizing companies from developed and developing economies try to tap the benefits of globalization to an unprecedented degree and therefore face—as well as contribute to—the complexity of eroding boundaries. In addition, complexity is seen as a core challenge of present and future companies. It cannot be simplified and will not disappear in the near future. Managing complexity therefore becomes a core competency of top executives and management.
Abstract: This article describes a theoretically-grounded framework of cultural dimensions conceptualized and operationalized at the individual level of analysis, based on the work of anthropologists Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck. We present empirical data gathered from five countries - Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and the United States - to assess the validity of the framework. We then use the results to explore how the cultural orientations framework can add insight and new perspectives to critical questions in cross cultural management research.
Abstract: We investigate the cultural accommodation hypothesis in questionnaire-based research: Do respondents adjust their responses in a way that reflects the cultural values associated with the language of the questionnaire? A test of this hypothesis with a sample of university students in seven countries indicates that cultural accommodation plays an important role in cross-language research.
Wir testen die Hypothese der kulturellen Anpassung in auf Fragebägen basierten Forschungsprojekten: Passen die Teilnehmer ihre Antworten den kulturellen Werten an, die mit der Sprache des Fragebogen verbunden sind? Ein Test dieser Hypothese anhand einer Umfrage unter Universitätsstudenten in sieben Ländern zeigt, das kulturelle Anpassung in der Tat eine wichtige Rolle in interlinguistischer Forschung einnimmt.
Abstract: This article addresses social contextual aspects of the lending decision not as irrational dimensions to be improved upon, but as important information that adds value to the rational decision-making process. It advocates a broader conceptualization of behavioural finance and the adoption of behavioural science theory and methods into credit scoring research. The article illustrates the use of behavioural sciences by presenting the results of an experimental study on the role of financial and social-cultural information on the lending decision process of experienced lenders in the United States. The study found that social-cultural information influenced the decision process in patterned and predictable ways. A future research agenda is outlined, and implications for credit scoring research and practice are discussed.
Abstract: Describes a set of skills and principles that turn culturally diverse teams from destroyers or mediocre performers into sustaining value creators. The Map-Bridge-Integrate (MBI) approach is presented to identify and develop an operating mode that unlocks each team's own potential. To map, teams use objective means to describe their cultural differences and apply this understanding to explain past incidents and set up future expectations. To bridge, team members communicate carefully, taking others' cultural backgrounds into account and adapting their own behavior to the team. To integrate, team members manage the team's interaction so that relevant information emerges, conflicts are resolved, and ideas evolve and are built upon. It is argued that in each of these steps, cultural differences can both hinder processes and enhance results. It is concluded that the final outcome is the creation and execution of unique and innovative solutions to complex organizational challenge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Abstract: Global virtual teams are internationally distributed groups of people with an organizational mandate to make or implement decisions with international components and implications. They are typically assigned tasks that are strategically important and highly complex. They rarely meet in person, conducting almost all of their interaction and decision making using communications technology. Although they play an increasingly important role in multinational organizations, little systematic is known about their dynamics or effectiveness. This study built a grounded theory of global virtual team processes and performance over time. We built a template based on Adaptive Structuration Theory (DeSanctis and Poole 1994) to guide our research, and we conducted a case study, observing three global virtual teams over a period of 21 months. Data were gathered using multiple methods, and qualitative methods were used to analyze them and generate a theory of global virtual team dynamics and effectiveness. First, we propose that effective global virtual team interaction comprises a series of communication incidents, each configured by aspects of the team's structural and process elements. Effective outcomes were associated with a fit among an interaction incident's form, decision process, and complexity. Second, effective global virtual teams sequence these incidents to generate a deep rhythm of regular face-to-face incidents interspersed with less intensive, shorter incidents using various media. These two insights are discussed with respect to other literature and are elaborated upon in several propositions. Implications for research and practice are also outlined.
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