Understanding the Development of a Global Mindset: Nature vs. Nurture

This study reviews two main perspectives, static and dynamic, on the development of a global mindset. From the static perspective, a global mindset is defined as an inborn attitude that is fixed, implicit and not easily changed. The dynamic perspective, on the other hand, views a global mindset as a growth mindset that is flexible, explicit and can be developed by learning new experiences. To provide a clear understanding about the development of a global mindset, this study examines whether it has a static nature that is difficult to change or a dynamic nature that can change in a short period of time. Based on the literature, we categorize the global mindset into three dimensions—cognition, skills and attitude—and analyze the static or dynamic characteristics of each dimension. Using a sample of 259 undergraduate students, we conducted a non-equivalent control group design. We surveyed 185 students who took an international business class (treatment group) and 74 students who participated in a managerial accounting class (control group), during a semester. Then, we compared the students’ global mindsets (cognition, skills and attitude) before and after the classes. The results revealed that the students’ cognition and skills increased after taking the international business class, but there was no difference in attitude between the start and end of the semester. In the control group, the students’ global mindsets did not change after the managerial accounting class. We also found that there were positive moderating effects of global motivation and language skills. This meant that the effectiveness of the IB class on the global mindset was strengthened with a high level of global motivation and also language skills. We discussed the implications, recommendations for future research and the limitations of our study.