Beyond Borders: Building International Business Resilience

As industries continue to globalize, businesses are finding unprecedented opportunities for growth. Creating a plan for resilient international operations is the first step in leveraging the constantly evolving global marketplace.

As international business landscapes continue to change rapidly, organizations face increasingly complex challenges that put their ability to thrive and adapt to the test. Organizations need a mix of careful planning and strong leadership to deal with a variety of risks and opportunities, including political conflicts, economic instability, new technologies, and changing customer habits.  

As the world becomes more connected, a company’s success isn’t just about its local operations anymore. Being able to handle the complexities of an expanding global market is now crucial for distinguishing successful businesses from those that fail. 

In this situation, creating a plan for global resilience has become a key strategy for companies that want to protect their international operations against future challenges. This plan is centered on the understanding that resilience is not fixed; instead, it is a changing and sometimes variable skill that needs to be developed throughout the entire organization.  

Apart from understanding various global risks and opportunities, and developing the agility to respond and adapt to rapidly changing conditions, business resilience also demands a leadership approach that: 

1. Creates a global mindset  

2. Leverages cultural intelligence 

3. Empowers teams to innovate and thrive in the face of adversity 

Maan-Hyun Han, Managing Director at Signium Korea, shares his thoughts: “What international, cross-border executive placement is showing us is that the world is becoming smaller. Business operations might be more complex than ever, but opportunities that organizations could only ever dream of now exist right within reach.”  

Three ways to build resilience and unlock opportunities  

Despite geopolitical instability, economic fluctuations, regulatory changes, and supply chain interruption, the dynamic and interconnected nature of international business offers the ever-present potential for positive market disruption. A wealth of opportunities exist for organizations that are willing to embrace the challenges and capitalize on emerging trends.  

1. Innovate operations with technological advancements 

Technological progression has transformed how businesses operate and interact with customers – and other businesses. When organizations cleverly adopt technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT), they’re able to achieve exponential growth in some of the following ways:  

• Streamline local and international operations  
• Enhance product offerings 
• Gain a competitive edge in the market 
• Improve service delivery and customer sentiments 
• Better manage or minimize costs 

Han adds, “The key point here is that the purpose of utilizing technological advancements must be clear. By doing so, cross-border businesses can overcome these complexities, but if the purpose is unclear, the benefits may be low in comparison to the investment. In other words, the benefits of technology can only be applied effectively after accurately understanding consumer behavior.” 

2. Increase buy-in through consumer behavior analysis 

Consumer behaviors are constantly evolving in response to changing societal trends, economic conditions, and convenient technologies available to them. Businesses that stay in touch and remain relevant to these shifts can adapt their brand message, as well as their products and services, to meet changing needs and preferences.  

The challenge? Customer behavior trends shift quickly. That’s why organizations must keep their ear to the ground and make fast, highly predictive decisions about the future of the business, in order to stay relevant to their target audience.  

“We live in the cancel-culture era,” says Han. “Businesses who fail to adapt to what their market wants to see and experience don’t just get left behind; they get canceled. On a global scale, this is quite a challenge, as you’re trying to appeal to numerous cultures at any given time. The way you market the same product to Europe will look entirely different in Asia.” 

3. Broaden horizons with strategic partnerships 

Working with strategic partners empowers organizations to find new opportunities for growth, expansion, and innovation – forging alliances with complementary enterprises, industry leaders, or technology providers for a set of shared objectives where positive outcomes can include: 

• Accessing new markets, technologies, and resources that they might not have been able to access on their own 
• Powering up profitability and mitigating risks by exchanging region- and industry-specific knowledge 
• Working together to develop ground-breaking solutions that drive mutual value 

An excellent example of a company that’s put these principles to the test is Tesla. Their journey through highs and lows tells a remarkable story of a business blazing a (low carbon-emission) trail of innovation and pushing boundaries, to become one of the largest electric vehicle manufacturers, globally. To meet growing international demand for electric vehicles, Tesla has optimized production efficiency and quality control by constructing Gigafactories in key locations around the world – large-scale facilities that manufacture the iconic electric vehicles, as well as vehicle batteries. 

Recognizing a strong synergy with the energy industry, Tesla announced its purchase of SolarCity in November 2016 and began its expansion into renewable energy solutions. Tesla now enjoys strategic partnerships on energy storage projects in more than 65 countries, an opportunity made possible through the company’s willingness to explore and innovate new pathways.  

Other ventures that the electric vehicle company has embarked on include becoming the first major investor in Bitcoin. Tesla acquired $1.5 billion of the cryptocurrency in 2021, and started accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment within the US. However only 49 days later, the organization halted Bitcoin payments, acknowledging that the production of the currency contradicted the company’s view on the consumption of fossil fuels. A year later, Tesla had sold most of its Bitcoin holdings at a loss, demonstrating their commitment to green business operations.  

Han adds, “Business resilience isn’t about running a perfect business. All companies, including giants like Tesla, confront failure. Resilience is about getting back up and adapting to the way the world has changed.”  

Leveraging cultural intelligence and a global mindset 

In today’s international business climate, understanding different cultures and creating inclusive, cooperative work environments are key to making an organization resilient. As companies expand internationally, it becomes even more vital for leaders to develop cultural intelligence and a global mindset. 

Cultural intelligence: Building trust and collaboration 

Cultural intelligence involves interacting effectively with stakeholders, partners, and customers from different cultural backgrounds. Understanding the customs, values, and communication styles of different markets is vital, and adapting business and interpersonal behaviors enables organizations to:  

• Build longstanding trust 

• Foster cross-cultural collaboration 
• Tap into the potential of diverse teams  

Global mindset: A strategic perspective 

A global mindset goes beyond single markets or regions. It’s marked by curiosity about the world, openness to diverse perspectives, and a readiness to challenge assumptions and biases. Fostering a global mindset puts C-suite leaders in a better position to make informed decisions, spot trends, and recognize potential in international opportunities.  

Han adds, “C-suite leaders with a global mindset will view cultural differences not as obstacles but as opportunities for value creation through cultural intelligence. This will be helpful for problem-solving that companies face. Especially for companies that have stalled growth in a local market, leveraging cultural intelligence is essential for expanding their business into other regions.” 

Extending critical competencies organization-wide 

Developing cultural intelligence and a global mindset is not exclusive to the C-suite. Organizations that operate internationally should invest in cross-cultural training programs to ensure all employees have the necessary skills and attitudes for success in the global arena. Embedding these competencies empowers teams to adapt, innovate, and excel, despite global challenges. 

Again we can look to Tesla to demonstrate their groundbreaking approach to cross-cultural business, which they achieve through exciting and creative marketing initiatives. Differing vastly from traditional automotive companies, Tesla has opted to rely less on traditional advertising and more on the most recent methods of marketing, for example the use of influencers.  

The company optimizes its global exposure through celebrity endorsements, user-generated social media content, and engagement with influencers. Their most notable marketing partnership to date is an alliance with world-leading YouTube influencer and philanthropist, James Stephen Donaldson – more commonly known as “Mr. Beast”.  

Through extraordinary sponsorships and giveaways, Tesla is able to reach Mr. Beast’s 256-million-strong YouTube audience, comprising of all ages and genders from across the globe – a strategy that impacts culturally diverse audiences through feel-good, highly-consumable content.  

Dynamic leaders navigate global teams 

In the face of the increasingly complex – and sometimes volatile – markets, the imperative for companies to develop durable, versatile strategies has never been more pressing.  

Ultimately, the path to global business resilience is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but rather an intricate and ongoing process that ultimately calls for C-suite leaders to approach international operations with anticipation and courage.   

• Commitment to understanding the organization’s unique context 
• The responsibility to undertake continuous learning and improvement 
• A willingness to not only adapt to change but embrace its opportunities 

By looking at how successful organizations handle global challenges, leaders can learn important lessons and find inspiration to create their own plans for resilience. Han highlights, “Above all, to seize and leverage opportunities in the complex environment of global business, leaders must be open-minded and tolerant toward different cultures, and adapt their organizational culture accordingly.”