Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Globalisation has reached a new phase: The world is global yet fragmented. How can boards of multinational companies keep up?
In this episode of INSEAD Explains Governance, Jose (Joe) Santos, Affiliated Professor of Practice in Global Management at INSEAD, says MNCs must be treated as a globally integrated system, where ideally, the whole is more than the parts – where “more” means different and value-adding.
Today, MNCs face unique challenges: Globalisation has evolved in such a disruptive way that it that can rapidly reshape the company’s footprint. He stresses that boards and leadership teams of MNCs must clarify where global integration truly creates value and where either local specialisation (“acting local”) or local integration (“being local”) must prevail. And when they learn to use dispersed knowledge effectively, they have potential to create breakthrough new products, new processes, and new business models.
View the full INSEAD Explains Governance series here: https://knowledge.insead.edu/insead-explains-governance
Chapters:
00:06 - What are some unique governance challenges of MNCs?
01:18 - How can boards help companies strike a balance between centralised control and local autonomy?
02:19 - How can boards be better attuned to the different operating regions?
03:25 - How can MNCs better navigate across regulatory regimes?
04:24 - How can boards help MNCs grow?
Globalisation has reached a new phase: The world is global yet fragmented. How can boards of multinational companies keep up?
In this episode of INSEAD Explains Governance, Jose (Joe) Santos, Affiliated Professor of Practice in Global Management at INSEAD, says MNCs must be treated as a globally integrated system, where ideally, the whole is more than the parts – where “more” means different and value-adding.
Today, MNCs face unique challenges: Globalisation has evolved in such a disruptive way that it that can rapidly reshape the company’s footprint. He stresses that boards and leadership teams of MNCs must clarify where global integration truly creates value and where either local specialisation (“acting local”) or local integration (“being local”) must prevail. And when they learn to use dispersed knowledge effectively, they have potential to create breakthrough new products, new processes, and new business models.
View the full INSEAD Explains Governance series here: https://knowledge.insead.edu/insead-explains-governance
Chapters:
00:06 - What are some unique governance challenges of MNCs?
01:18 - How can boards help companies strike a balance between centralised control and local autonomy?
02:19 - How can boards be better attuned to the different operating regions?
03:25 - How can MNCs better navigate across regulatory regimes?
04:24 - How can boards help MNCs grow?
