Our research shows that people in the same organisation can have very different views of the same market, depending on how they experience it. As global work becomes more distributed, these differences in perspective are becoming more important. Companies need to think carefully about whose voice is shaping their decisions.
Professor Johann Fortwengel, Professor of International Management, King’s Business School
01 April 2026
Global business decisions depend on who you ask, not what's true
New research from King’s Business School shows why companies misread international markets.
New research from King’s Business School finds that employees in the same multinational company can have fundamentally different views of operating in the same country, leading to misaligned strategies and missed opportunities.
The study with Loughborough University London, published in Human Resource Management Journal, challenges the long-held assumption that differences between countries are the main barrier to international business. Instead, it shows that how individuals experience those differences plays a decisive role.
Researchers found that employees’ perceptions of working across borders vary depending on their role. Those embedded in a country over time tend to develop a broad, grounded understanding of local systems. Others, working remotely or on short-term projects, often rely on second-hand information or narrow functional exposure.
This creates a gap between how “different” or “similar” a market is perceived, even within the same firm. As a result, strategic decisions about expansion, partnerships or hiring may reflect internal perspectives rather than on-the-ground conditions.
The research identified three factors that shape these perceptions: whether employees engage with a country directly or through others, whether their experience is broad or limited to a specific task, and whether their exposure is long-term or temporary. Employees with partial or mediated experience may perceive greater barriers, while those with direct and sustained exposure may identify opportunities that others overlook.
The findings are particularly relevant as global work becomes more fragmented. With the rise of remote collaboration and cross-border project teams, more employees are involved in international decision-making without ever spending time in the markets they influence.
This shift means that junior and mid-level staff, not just senior executives, increasingly shape how organisations interpret global environments through their own experience.
The study suggests companies need to rethink how they use international experience when making strategic decisions. Rather than treating global exposure as a single asset, firms should consider the type and depth of that experience, and whose perspective is informing key choices.
For organisations operating across borders, the implication is clear: understanding international markets requires not just better data, but better awareness of how individual perspectives are formed.
Global strategy is often based on how individuals perceive distance, not on objective differences between countries. Global business decisions are often shaped less by objective reality and more by who inside the organisation is asked.
Professor Tony Edwards, Professor of International Management, Loughborough University London
The full report, Institutional Distance and the Lived Experience of Actors in the Contemporary MNC: the Role of Positionality, is available online.
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Professor of International Management