International business in the information and digital age

Abstract

This volume is dedicated to Lorraine Eden for her lifetime contributions to IB scholarship. Her research, spanning several decades, has addressed many interdisciplinary and societal themes at the heart of the IB field. The story of her intellectual journey -- strongly influenced by the coming of age of the fourth industrial revolution -- is shared in the opening chapter of this volume. This thirteenth volume in the PIBR series covers an increasingly important area of research for International Business (IB) scholars: the role of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the digital and information age. A limited number of MNEs now dominate the landscape of the digital age, but almost all internationally operating firms are being affected by prevailing trends. How to take stock of these trends? How to develop resilient international business models? How to regulate? The digital age presents new opportunities but also major challenges for established and emerging MNEs alike. This volume brings together papers from leading IB scholars and from academics in adjacent disciplines such as economic geography, international relations and political science, strategic management, and technology studies. Four dimensions of the information and digital age are analyzed using an IB angle: Trends and theories in the information age Entrepreneurial strategies in the information age Functional strategies in the information age Industry 4.0 The information and digital age is shaped by a small number of multinational enterprises from a limited number of countries. This volume covers the latest insight from the International Business discipline on prevailing trends in business model evolution. It also discusses critical issues of regulation in the new information and digital space.