Published in 1996, Leading Change is, in many ways, a reaction to the upheaval of traditional business practices that occurred in the 1990s. Kotter mentions the advances in both globalization and technology that occurred during this time as he explains the need for change in a developing, modern world. Globalization, an ongoing process that experienced a sharp increase in the 1990s, is the increase in interconnectedness and interdependency between nations and cultures around the world. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the 1990s saw the sudden inclusion of former Soviet bloc states in the Western economy. In North America, specifically, the creation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1992 allowed easier, cheaper trade between Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Such changes in global conditions allowed for new bonds across countries’ economies, generating the benefits of increased productivity and trade as well as the disadvantages of increased competition and the rise of practices like outsourcing labor.

Technology in the 1990s aided the process of globalization through telecommunications improvements and the advent of the internet. Suddenly, communication and trade could occur from any phone or computer almost anywhere in the world, and information became readily available to businesses and individuals alike.