NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 70 (1) 2024 50 Global Leading and Competencies of Global Leaders Dorotea Markasović, a Najla Podrug, *b Ana Aleksić Fredotović c a PhD Student at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics & Business, Trg J. F. Kennedy 6, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia b,c University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics & Business, Trg J. F. Kennedy 6, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia dmarkasovic@net.efzg.hr; npodrug@efzg.unizg.hr, aaleksic@efzg.unizg.hr ARTICLE INFO Abstract Global leading and leadership are two of the most relevant topics in contemporary management literature, as shown by the scientific interest and the number of papers that reflect this topic from several different points of view. This paper's purpose was to review the current research and papers published in this field in the last decade. For this purpose, visualization was done in the VOSviewer application. Findings show that the frequency of publication had doubled in the analyzed period, with the following competencies considered the most important ones for global leaders: a global mindset, emotional intelligence, high ethical standards, fairness, empowering individuals in the team, and caring for your team. The paper provides insight into general trends in research and key research conclusions that have implications and applications in the real sector. It proposes directions for future research based on detected research gaps. Introduction In a world that has been, more or less deftly, navigating the nooks and crannies of the fourth industrial revolution for about a decade now, where business is done globally and in an international context, it is difficult to avoid the topic of global leading and competencies of a global leader. Numerous challenges, as well as the changes already taking place, are the causes leading to the question of global leading, what constitutes it, and what competencies should be possessed by those who aim to be recognized as global leaders. Research in this area is significant, not only in the academic community but also with implications for the entire community and practitioners. Previous literature deals with the concept of a global leader and global leadership per se (e.g. Osland et al., 2020; Rickley, 2023; Mendenhall et al., 2012; Osland, 2017), global leadership development (e.g. Morrison, 2000), global leader attributes (Kee et al., 2017) and most Review Article Article history: Received December 2023 Revised February 2024 Accepted February 2024 JEL Classification M10, M16 Keywords: Leadership Competencies Global leading Global leaders Bibliometric analysis UDK: 005.322:316.46 DOI: 10.2478/ngoe-2024-0005 Cite this article as: Markasović, D., Podrug, N., & Aleksić Fredotović, A. (2024). Global Leading and Competencies of Global Leaders. Naše gospodarstvo/Our Economy, 70(1), 50-6 0. DOI: 10.2478/ngoe-2024-0005. ©2024 The Authors. Published by Sciendo on behalf of the University of Maribor, Faculty of Economics and Business, Slovenia. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by- nc-nd/4.0/). * Corresponding author. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 70 (1) 2024 51 notably global leadership competencies (e.g. Jokinen, 2005; Cumberland et al., 2016; Bird & Stevens, 2017; Azeredo & Henriqson, 2023). Still, as Cumberland et al. (2016) emphasize, a strong focus on this topic has led to an abundance of global leadership competencies identified in the scholar-practitioner literature. There is a gap in the literature seeking more consistent comprehension of what global leadership competencies are required in diverse circumstances (Cumberland et al., 2016) and the need to simplify and synthesize existing knowledge in the field (Forsyth & Maranga, 2015). Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to plunge more deeply into the existing literature, and based on the review of current research and bibliometric analysis to consolidate findings and provide general trends in the research on the topic of global leading and global leadership competencies in recent years in the field of economics and business. More concretely, we aim by reviewing the existing literature to determine which competencies of global leaders in the international context were detected by the authors who dealt with this topic recently, how they described global leading, and which other possible factors they connected with the adaptation of the behavior of global leaders in the international environment. Based on this, we also aim to propose directions for future research based on detected research gaps. The paper consists of five chapters. While the first section is an introduction, the second considers the theoretical framework relevant to the research. The third section presents the methodology used, and the fourth provides the main research results. This is followed by a discussion and overview of the most important and interesting contributions to the research topic. The paper ends with the main conclusion, as well as implications of the research, as well as research limitations. Theoretical Framework The theoretical framework of this topic is located in several areas – economics, psychology, and business. Because of this, it is necessary to define the basic terms and make the basic terminological distinction – leading and leadership are not synonyms. Buble (2006, 309) defines leading as one "of the managerial functions by which the manager, based on his official position, resulting from organizational structure, influences employees in such a way that they perform jobs and tasks assigned to them individually, in work groups, and in work teams." On the other hand, leadership is "the ability of managers to influence the work and organizational behavior of employees based on their organizational power, by to motivate and inspire them with business goals and to adapt their leading and management style to the organizational culture and organizational climate" (Balog, 2021, 392). In the global context, there is a need for increased cognitive complexity, social acuity, and behavioral flexibility because of significant diversity, more frequent and extensive boundary-crossing activities, a greater number of stakeholders that need to be taken into account when making decisions, greater complexity, competitive pressures, volatility, and pressures for ongoing change efforts (Mendenhall et al., 2012). Therefore, global leadership includes not just the traits of a traditional leader with a global mindset (Arizona State University, 2023), where global leaders’ tasks refer to orchestrating multiple activities and managing interdependent relationships (Rickley, 2023). It can also be defined as operating effectively in a global environment while respecting cultural diversity (Harris, Moran, & Moran, 2004, p. 25). Mendenhall et al. (2008,17) define global leaders, as individuals who effect significant positive change in organizations by building communities through the development of trust and the arrangement of organizational structures and processes in a context involving multiple cross-boundary stakeholders, multiple sources of external cross- boundary authority, and multiple cultures under conditions of temporal, geographical and cultural complexity. Leaders who want influence and significance in the global context need to adopt new values and master skills and competencies. In this sense, it is extremely interesting to study which competencies are considered necessary for someone to be a global leader. The collective knowledge, skills, and abilities that constitute effective organizational leadership and the essential attributes that enable leaders to carry out their duties in many cultural contexts are referred to as global leadership competencies (Akil, 2021). Both the academic community and practitioners recognize the competencies of global leaders within three key categories (Bellner, 2022): a) business and organizational acumen; b) managing people and relationships; c) managing oneself. According to Bird (2017), competencies in the first category include vision and strategic thinking and implementing and directing changes. In the second category, the most essential elements are intercultural skills and empowering others, and in the third category, the leader's character, resilience, and the development of the aforementioned global mindset (Bird, 2018). Markasović, D., Podrug, N., Aleksić Fredotović, A. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 70 (1) 2024 52 Additionally, apart from classic leadership skills, a global leader must (Gundling et al., 2011): a) think globally and fully understand the interconnected nature and disposition of the world in which he lives; b) have a complete understanding of the global and regional business environment; c) fully understand world markets, trends and connections between them; d) understand and develop strategies for overcoming international challenges and crises; e) understand how to recognize and take advantage of international opportunities; f) recognize the importance of culture for business, human behavior, teamwork, work ethics, and goal setting; g) communicate knowledgeably and professionally with people from very different environments, social norms, languages, and with different life experiences; h) actively listen and show empathy towards those with a completely different worldview; i) have strong organizational leading skills. Bellner (2022) also emphasizes coping with challenges and recognizing and exploiting opportunities in a dynamic international ecosystem. Giles (2016) emphasizes that research over the past few decades has shown that the most important qualities of leaders are focused on soft skills and emotional intelligence. Based on research that included 195 leaders from more than 30 global organizations, she suggests that there are five main competencies demonstrated by strong leaders: high ethical standards and enabling a safe work environment, empowering individuals and employees to self-organize, promoting connection and a sense of belonging among employees, openness to new ideas and experimentation, commitment to the professional and intellectual development of employees. Some key areas for achieving global competencies include developing a business strategy, cultural intelligence, and a global mindset. Global strategy, or the ability to employ global strategic thinking, encompasses the knowledge of how to create and maintain value beyond the borders of one's own country. A leader must understand how to align the company's strategy and structure and achieve the mission and vision that would provide a competitive advantage. Cultural intelligence includes connecting and working effectively in culturally diverse situations and the ability to cross boundaries and thrive in multiple cultures, reflecting cultural agility. Cultural intelligence implies the development of behavioral and motivational skills (Bellner, 2022). A leader with a global mindset is a leader who recognizes the need for global integration and local responsibility and works to optimize this duality. A global mindset includes an appreciation of diversity, as well as openness to learning everywhere and from everywhere (Pucik, 2006). However, Giles (2016) notes that although many of these abilities may seem obvious, they are not so easily mastered by leaders and underlines that the ability to improve these competencies should be the leaders' priority. Developing these competencies can be achieved through formal learning and experiential learning (e.g., accepting assignments abroad or working on a global project with international colleagues). Arizona State University (2023) provides steps and suggestions on how to prepare for the role of a global leader as effectively as possible. According to them, it is necessary to: a) improve your knowledge of the world, including geography, culture, and history (paying special attention to relations between countries as this can have a significant impact on trade, business, and interpersonal communication); b) consider learning a new language or learning basic language skills in several languages (even learning the basics can provide a more profound knowledge and understanding of the language and culture); c) consume media from around the world in order to broaden one's view of world events, everyday affairs, and cultural norms; d) read books and articles that focus on the topics of general leadership and global leadership; e) work on communication skills, including interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, and conflict resolving; f) travel abroad and certainly include some non-tourist activities in the itinerary in order to get to know the people and culture of that area; g) seek out local opportunities for action and cooperation (Arizona State University, 2023). The competencies of global leaders should be constantly improved and upgraded to meet the needs of multinational companies. The work and development of the competencies of global leaders also improve global leadership within multinational companies, which certainly spills over into the global community. In addition, the competencies of global leaders are becoming an indispensable part of the education strategies across the European Union countries, as proposed by the Guidelines for Global Education from Lisbon in 2012 (Cabezudo et al., 2012). According to a survey conducted by Ghemawat (2012) among top managers, 76% believe that their companies should establish themselves as global leaders and maintain that status, but only 7% think they are doing it effectively. Ultimately, global leading and the competencies of global leaders become a niche for companies and institutions that provide educational services and conduct courses on this topic. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 70 (1) 2024 53 Methodology To review recent research and synthesize findings and provide broad trends in the field of business and economics research on the subject of global leadership and global leadership competencies the following methods were used: The methods used were: literature review, description method, compilation method, comparison method, analysis and synthesis. The collected data and their connections were analyzed using the comparison method. The collected data were systematically prepared and processed. The first step was to collect relevant literature. The reviewed articles are available in the following databases: Hrčak - the portal of scientific and professional journals of the Republic of Croatia and the Crosbi database. Additionally, the most relevant articles were searched for in Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. The Summon tool of the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb, which integrates databases, was also used. Most relevant articles can be found in the following databases: ProQuest Central, DOAJ - Directory of Open Access Journals, ROAD - Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources, and SpringerLink Journals. The selected articles are articles from relevant scientific journals. The articles were collected periodically from September 10, 2023, to September 24, 2023. The following terms were selected as keywords: search parameters: global leading; global leadership; global leader; leadership competencies. The selected keywords were searched for in the fields of business and economics. Additionally, the search filters applied limited the results to papers in English only and to open access works containing keywords in the work's text. "Leadership" was chosen as the subject term because leaders have followers, which is why this is the term that best fits the topic of this paper. In the last five years, an increase in the number of studies containing given parameters can be observed, which testifies to the growth of interest in this field of research. However, in Croatia, the engagement with this topic is rather modest. The articles selected to conduct the research described in this paper were chosen according to their relevance. The reading of the titles and summaries and the manual review have resulted in 39 articles most relevant to the research topic, out of which 36 article abstracts were selected for analysis via the VOSviewer application. Research Results The research results were processed by first showing the frequency of publishing works corresponding to the search results in the last five years (2018 - 2022) and the current year. Visualizations of sets of keywords were made using the VOSviewer application. Viewing the search results per the described parameters reveals that the number of articles published in the last five years and the current one that combines considerations about global leading and the competencies of a global leader is n (5) = 25 (Figure 1). Figure 1 Distribution of relevant scientific papers over a certain period Source: Author's work For ten years, the data are as follows: n (10) = 39. There is a significant difference between the data for the number of papers published in the last 5 and 10 years - it indicates that in the last five years, the interest of the scientific community and the academic population in this topic has more than doubled. The number of research papers uniting these areas is increasing. The chart also shows the growing trend (dotted line) of researchers in this area and this topic. In 2020, four articles that matched the search criteria were published (16.00%). Most articles were published in 2022 (44.00%, 11 articles), which is understandable – the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has directed researchers into questioning the competencies of global leaders and what skills are needed to overcome the crisis with as few losses (both human and material) as possible. Also, the publication of the papers was on hold due to the complete lockdown. No scientific paper matching the given search criteria was published in 2019. In 2021, there were six articles (24.00%), twice as many as in 2018, when there were only three articles (12.00%). So far, only one article (4.00%) has been published in 2023. This year's results are slightly lower since it is not yet over. Following this, the papers were analyzed through the VOSviewer application, which displayed keywords. In 3 0 4 6 11 1 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 2018. 2019. 2020. 2021. 2022. 2023. Number of papers Publishing year Markasović, D., Podrug, N., Aleksić Fredotović, A. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 70 (1) 2024 54 Network Visualization, terms are represented by their grapheme and (by default) a circle. The colour of the term is determined by the cluster to which the term belongs. The meaning of the term determines the size of the circle. The greater the significance of the term, the larger the mark and circle attached to that term. The lines between terms represent connections. An example of a network visualization is shown in Figure 2. The distance between two terms in the visualization approximately indicates the connection of the terms in terms of co-citation links. The closer two terms are placed to each other, the stronger their connection. Figure 2 Visualization of the network Source: Author's work Table 1 Clusters Cluster Key words Combined summaries (36 summaries) 1 Competency, management, manager, paper 2 Innovation, leader, leadership, study 3 Employee, relationship, research Summaries of papers published after January 1, 2018 (until September 24, 2023, 25 abstracts) 1 Interpersonal leadership, leadership 2 Management, paper 3 Employee, research Summaries of papers published before January 1, 2018 (11 summaries) 1 Leader, leadership, study Source: Author's work It is also interesting to look at the terms according to clusters. The analysis was carried out for summaries of works written before January 1, 2018, and those written between January 1, 2018 and September 24, 2023. The terms classified according to clusters are given in Table 1. It can be seen that the term "leadership" is in the first cluster for both groups of summaries while being in the second one when the summaries are combined. It is also interesting to note how the term "leader" is in the first cluster for summaries of an older date, while it is in the second cluster when all the summaries are grouped. The term "competence" is in the first cluster in the combined summaries, whereas it does not appear in the other categories of summaries. Additionally, the term "interpersonal leadership" is found in cluster 1 of more recent abstracts, which indicates scientists' interest in this specific topic. Table 2 Terms according to the number of appearances and relevance Phrase Occurrence Relevance Combined summaries (36 summaries) Employee 15 3,43 Innovation 13 1,18 Management 28 1,08 Leadership 95 1,01 Research 26 0,86 Relationship 19 0,76 Study 49 0,66 Competency 25 0,65 Paper 19 0,53 Leader 57 0,51 Manager 14 0,34 Summaries of papers published after January 1, 2018 (until September 24, 2023, 25 abstracts) Interpersonal leadership 10 1,47 Paper 11 1,26 Employee 15 1,20 Leadership 60 0,82 Management 23 0,68 Research 17 0,56 Summaries of papers published before January 1, 2018 (11 summaries) Leadership 25 1,39 Study 13 1,27 Leader 25 0,34 Source: Author's work Although the term clusters were created based on abstracts of papers, it would be interesting to expand this bibliometric analysis (carried out by network analysis) to include the papers themselves. However, even these clusters show where the focus of researchers is directed in which period. This can be confirmed by the number of occurrences of these terms and their relevance. For example, the term ''leadership'' appears the most in the combined summaries, as many as 95 times, while the term ''innovation'' appears the least in the same group, only 13 times. In summaries of papers written before January 1, 2018, it can be seen that the terms "leadership" and "leader" appear an equal number of times (25 times each), while the term that is mentioned most often in NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 70 (1) 2024 55 summaries written after that date is "leadership" (60 times). The term "study" has the lowest number of appearances in abstracts written before January 1, 2018, while the term mentioned the fewest times in abstracts written after that date is "interpersonal leadership" (10 times). However, it should be noted that this term has the highest relevance rating in that group. Terms with a high relevance score tend to represent specific topics covered by the textual data, while terms with a low relevance score tend to be general and not represent any specific topic. By excluding terms with a low relevance score, general terms are filtered out, and the focus shifts to more specific and informative terms. By default, approximately 40% of terms are automatically excluded in the VOSviewer application based on their relevance score (including those with less than ten appearances) (van Eck & Waltman, 2022). By observing the results of the analysis, it can be stated that the term "leadership" has a high relevance in all analyzed categories, while the relevance ratings of the terms "leader" and "competence" are good (Table 2). Discussion The results of the analyses carried out indicate that interest in the topic of global leadership has been growing in recent years. In addition, researchers are also interested in specific forms of leadership, such as responsible or interpersonal, and try to see the key competencies of (successful and "good") global leaders. Interestingly, they asserted that national culture plays a big role in the relationship between a leader and his team, that is, followers. Several analyzed papers strongly emphasize the importance of context and cultural values. Paiuc (2021) detected cultural intelligence as a key competency of inclusive leaders. With the world's multiculturalism, the workforce's migration, the ageing of the population in developed countries and other demographic problems, there are more and more companies, institutions, and organizations that are racially and ethnically diverse. This is why the role of inclusive leadership is becoming crucial. Paiuc (2021) believes that knowing how to lead and multiply the results of diverse teams in which all members support each other and feel good is a real skill but also crucial for expanding any multicultural business. Based on bibliometric analysis, he asserts that cultural intelligence is the core and drive of inclusive leadership. In addition, he also believes that cultural intelligence is the main competency for multinational and global leadership (Paiuc, 2021). Hincapie & Sánchez (2022) have, through a bibliometric analysis, tried to establish how important the context isregarding responsible leadership in Latin America. Responsible leadership was defined by Maak & Pless (2006). They defined responsible leadership as a relational and ethical phenomenon that occurs in social processes of interaction with those who influence or are influenced by leadership and have a stake in the purpose and vision of leadership. The article provides an overview of research on responsible leadership in Latin America. Two specific roles of the context itself (cultures and values promoted in Latin America) were determined: I) the context can act as a motivating force and have a formative role, promoting the moral development of a responsible leader; II) the context can act as a pulling force that motivates the leader to take responsibility for contributing to the society that needs it. Thus, it is clear from this that the culture and the very context in which the leader operates are extremely important for his (responsible) leadership. Steinmann & Pugnetti (2021) examined leadership practices in Switzerland and Poland. They surveyed employees of an institution in the financial services sector with branches in both countries. They questioned the employees about their leadership expectations, experiences, and cultural values. They asserted that leadership expectations in these two locations do not differ significantly. However, their experience differs, indicating an opportunity for further development in improving management practices and leadership behaviour. In addition, they also detected several cultural dimensions (avoidance of uncertainty, collectivism versus individualism, power distance) that significantly impact leadership expectations in both countries. This research shows that the cultural assimilation of leaders into their culture, not just the organizational culture, is really important for them to be recognized as "good" leaders. Tsai (2022) proposed a theoretical framework that describes the conditions under which expatriate leaders are likely to adapt their behavior as leaders and how this behavioral adaptation is related to their effectiveness as leaders. Behavioral adaptation in a cross-cultural context is critical to effective leadership, but little effort has been made to conceptualize the relationship between behavioral adaptation and leader effectiveness. National culture was detected as a key factor influencing the behavior of leaders. The research found that leaders who perceive themselves as foreigners in the country they came to have a harder time adapting to the host country's culture. They can change and direct the behavior of subordinates and followers only to a minimal extent. The results of this research indicate a reciprocal relationship between the adaptations of leadership behavior, the Markasović, D., Podrug, N., Aleksić Fredotović, A. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 70 (1) 2024 56 behavior itself, and the effectiveness of the leader. As these studies indicate, the sooner the leader adapts his behavior and shows appreciation of the domicile national culture, the sooner a positive relationship between the team and the leader will develop. Ultimately, implementing the aforementioned good practices in leading and improving the competencies of (global) leaders could lead to an overall improvement in all matters of sustainable development and a fairer and more inclusive society. Regarding specific global leadership competencies, several papers and their contributions need to be additionally discussed. According to Shaikh et al. (2018), today, the key competencies for global leaders are personal value system, career awareness, ethical and external influences, leading change, cultural sensitivity, team building, strategic leadership, conflict management, communication skills, global leadership mindset, and emotional intelligence. In their paper, Shaikh et al. (2018) show that the personal value system variable received the lowest average score, whereas the leading change variable received the highest average score. Another important realization emerged from this research: in practice, demographic variables do not strongly influence any competencies. What was also very important was verifying the existence of correlations between managerial and leadership competencies. Shaikh et al. (2018) have determined that the correlations between these competencies were significant and high. This means that the improvement of any competency (whether managerial or leadership) has a large and positive impact on all other competencies. In practice, this implies that the levels of managerial and leadership abilities achieve a synergy of development, that is, as one skill improves, so do the others. Lan & Hung (2018) sought to determine the most important leadership competencies in public administration in Vietnam. The results of their research, which they conducted on 529 employees in executive management functions, suggest that managers devote themselves predominantly to change management (highest average score). However, all the competencies they detected are important for the broader context of global leader competencies. They classified a total of 21 competencies into four groups: I) regional context (knowledge of local culture, knowledge of strategies and policies for local development); II) professional competencies (knowledge of organizational mission, knowledge required for work in that area); III) human resources management (motivating employees, enabling training and personal development of employees, building a good, positive relationship with employees); IV) personal development (orientation on results, continuous learning, communication skills, decision- making, planning and organizing, change management, strategic thinking and a strategic stance in solving issues). All these competencies can be applied in the context of global leading, and are important for global leaders. Sobratee & Bodhanya (2018) write about employers' competition for talented individuals and employees who have the competencies of global leaders. The traditional approaches to leadership have become insufficient due to rapid (knowledge-based) changes in the economy. Through their work, they wanted to create an integrative theory-based framework that can be used to identify the components that make up management and leadership. They have found that individual differences in competencies, skills, and attitudes (which ensure the development of creative and talented leaders) are not the only factor that contributes to the creation of global leaders; they emphasize that practice is also important. In this sense, they underscore the organizational culture as one of the elements that can slow down or completely prevent the implementation of innovative ideas by managers and leaders (leadership is constrained by organizational conventions). This paper suggests that leaders and managers must apply systematic thinking competencies to improve organizational performance in the rapidly changing global business environment and remain competitive. Cahyadi & Magda (2021) considered the capability of digital leadership in G20 economies. The research is based on secondary data for 2019. Their research aimed to investigate the digital leadership capability of the G20 countries, which they defined through three variables: the global digital readiness index, the global innovation index, and the global competitiveness index. The authors have broken down these three variables into their components: the indicators they include. Digital readiness is based on the satisfaction of basic needs (one cannot talk about digitization without the most basic needs being fulfilled for the majority of the population). Also, it encompasses the expertise of human resources, the ease of doing business, direct foreign investments and state investments, an environment that encourages start-ups, technological infrastructure, and technology implementation. Innovation is influenced by institutions, human capital, and research achievements, infrastructure, market sophistication, business NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 70 (1) 2024 57 sophistication, results based on knowledge and technology, and creativity. Competitiveness also refers to institutions, infrastructure, implementations of ICT, macroeconomic stability, health, skills, product market, labor market, financial system, market size, business dynamics, and the ability to innovate. The results of the research showed that the G20 countries can lead in the digital environment as well, although different countries achieved better results on different variables, which shows where their focus is and how their leaders think. Moreover, all three variables are positively related to each other. Digitization in leadership practice requires the research to be expanded. All of the aforementioned components should be worked on and improved for the country to be a global leader, and this is what the leaders themselves should keep in mind. Today's economic leaders must be in tune with the global mindset and support a culture of innovation. Živković (2022) conducted a bibliometric analysis based on articles from the following databases: Scopus and Web of Science. The goal was to examine existing scientific research and develop an integrative framework explicitly focused on leadership competencies in digital transformation. The identified leadership dimensions (competencies) are: why (vision, innovation, flexibility); what (understanding the digital technologies, empowerment, collaboration); how (a person has several types of intelligence, for example, musical, arithmetic, spatial; experimentation, continuous learning). Živković (2022) suggests that the competency framework obtained can be used in business management, organizational development, and education. In the end, it is evident that most of the scientific papers written at the beginning of this century mostly emphasize the same important competencies found in recent papers. In other words, it can be concluded that the set of previously recognized key competencies and the set of the most recent ones intersect to show the competencies that are also the most important ones today, namely a global mindset, emotional intelligence, high ethical standards and fairness, empowering individuals in the team, and caring for your team. Conclusion The topic of global and global leadership presents a vibrant research field with an increasing interest of authors and researchers. Still, as the literature has indicated, it seems as if the field misses a certain synthesis and simplification of the main findings. Therefore, with this in mind, this paper tried to provide a deeper insight into recent research and published papers on the topic, focusing specifically on insight regarding general trends in research on global leading and leadership competencies, as well as key research conclusions and current research gaps. The bibliometric analysis was used to address the research question of consolidation of findings and general trends in the research of global leading and global leadership competencies. Regarding practical implications, the content provided in this paper incorporates the main findings of previous research and, as such, it may serve as a starting point for practitioners in planning different selection, training, and career development activities and for academics in starting their research. Identifying and categorizing different global leadership competencies will benefit human resource professionals and human resources development practitioners. Human resources development researchers could develop a training typology that delineates what global leadership development programs work best under what circumstances to assist practitioners with these decisions. Therefore, it can be concluded that change like man, despite the global environment changing extremely quickly, takes place at a much slower pace. However, it is advised to confirm or refute this conclusion by considering a larger number of papers for future research. In addition, the research can be improved by determining the time frame (what is considered an "older" and what is a "more recent" paper) and by presenting predictions in the context of competencies that will be needed and valued in the future. Research limitations primarily refer to the time frame of the research, the considered time segment of the publication of relevant papers, access to certain databases, and available papers (that is, articles in open access). By refining the search and supplementing it with new keywords, for example, by narrowing the research area down by adding "intercultural context", "international", and "cultural dimensions", the results obtained would be more focused and would, possibly, show different results and stimulate new research questions. It is important to understand that though bibliometric analysis is an effective method of summarizing and synthesizing literature, it is not without limitations. In particular, the qualitative assertions of bibliometrics can be quite subjective given that bibliometric analysis is quantitative, wherein the relationship between quantitative and qualitative results is often unclear. Also, bibliometric studies can offer a short-term forecast of the research field, and thus, Markasović, D., Podrug, N., Aleksić Fredotović, A. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 70 (1) 2024 58 making over-ambitious assertions about the research field and its impact in the long run should be avoided. Ultimately, based on the reviewed papers, it can be concluded that there are numerous research gaps and open research questions. For example, is national culture a key factor influencing the behaviour of leaders who are younger, or come from multicultural families; whether leaders (who officially have equal competencies) are considered equally "good" in different national cultures; are modern management manuals that evaluate the competencies of managers determining the competencies of global leaders. The references used in this analysis review are not an exhaustive list; most are drawn from journals with papers written in English. Relevant sources of information may also exist in other domains of scientific inquiry. Non-English language contributions were therefore omitted. There are still many (research) challenges, but also opportunities. Since there is a large space for potential research here, more significant scientific contributions that would combine these areas would have an echo in the business practice as well. References Akil, A. (2021). Effective Leadership in a Global Environment. 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Inspiring Digital Transformation: An Integrative Leadership Competency Framework. Ekonomska misao i praksa, 31(1), 237-254. DOI:10.17818/EMIP/2022/1.11 Markasović, D., Podrug, N., Aleksić Fredotović, A. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 70 (1) 2024 60 Globalno vodenje in kompetence globalnih vodij Izvleček Globalno vodenje in voditeljstvo je ena izmed najbolj aktualnih tem v sodobni literaturi s področja managementa, kar se kaže v znanstvenem zanimanju in številu člankov, ki to temo obravnavajo z različnih vidikov. Namen tega prispevka je bil narediti pregled aktualnih raziskav in člankov, objavljenih na tem področju v zadnjem desetletju. V ta namen je bila izvedena vizualizacija v aplikaciji VOSviewer. Ugotovitve kažejo, da se je pogostost objav v analiziranem obdobju podvojila, za najpomembnejše kompetence globalnih vodij pa veljajo: globalna miselnost, čustvena inteligenca, visoki etični standardi in pravičnost, krepitev moči posameznikov v timu in skrb za svoj tim. Članek omogoča vpogled v splošne trende v raziskavah ter ključne ugotovitve raziskav, ki imajo posledice in uporabo v realnem sektorju, ter predlaga usmeritve za prihodnje raziskave na podlagi odkritih raziskovalnih vrzeli. Ključne besede: vodenje, kompetence, globalno vodenje, globalni voditelji, bibliometrična analiza