International Business

Chinese companies are reinventing management through an approach called “digitally enhanced directed autonomy” (DEDA). DEDA uses digital platforms to give frontline employees direct access to corporate resources and capabilities, allowing them to organize themselves around business opportunities without managerial intervention. Autonomy is directed where it is needed and tracked. By giving teams the freedom to design, produce, and sell their products, companies can foster innovation, increase employee engagement, and improve customer satisfaction. The authors use case studies to examine how Chinese companies utilize DEDA and how Western companies might learn from it.

In our globalized world, the ability to navigate cultural differences has become a critical skill. Paula Caligiuri's recent book provides a valuable framework for achieving this goal, by emphasizing the need to build cultural agility through social learning. Her Cultural Agility framework provides executives and managers with the tools needed to build trust, gain credibility, collaborate, and communicate across cultural boundaries. It is all the more important for managers of companies in and from emerging markets, who may be facing unique cultural barriers through foreign expansion.