The Role of Digitalization on the Internationalization Strategy of Born-Digital Companies

Abstract

Digital technologies have led to born-digital companies, defined by their highly digitalized value chains, designed at their inception. Born-digital (BD) companies leverage digitalization across their value chains in the internationalization path. However, despite this emergence, very few empirical studies in international business literature have explained the impact of bricolage in conducting value chain activities and exploiting the internationalization strategy of BD companies. The present study responds to these omissions of how the digitalization of the value chain activities and the internationalization strategy enhance companies by allowing them to reach customers (users) and partners with available resources and less time. The results indicate that the digitalization of value chain activities facilitates the re-use and mixing of the resources at hand to overcome challenges, innovate solutions, or create new opportunities for international growth, in line with the bricolage theory. Overall, this study contributes to international business literature regarding, specifically, the behaviors of born-digital companies as they strategically approach internationalization efforts.

Digital transformation and export performance: a process mechanism of firm digital capabilities

“…Digital technologies and strategies permit the formation of new products and services that would rapidly cross international borders and substantially impact the economic activity and institutional framework of home and host nations (Kohtam€ aki et al, 2021). Moreover, they may influence the internationalisation process regarding time, pace, location, entry mode approach, learning and recombination of foreign markets and access to the local market's resources and capabilities (Coviello et al, 2017;Vadana et al, 2021). In addition, digitisation, modern data science and business intelligence methodologies may ensure the success of knowledge-intensive services and procedures regardless of whether a corporation operates locally or internationally (Alc acer and Cruz-Machado, 2019;Cassetta et al, 2020).…”

Networks of internationalizing digital platforms in physical place and digital space

“…Borders in online space are also intangible; however, they certainly exist and can be linked to real‐life individuals and groups. Hence, combining and orchestrating network relations in both physical and digital localities suggests important implications for internationalization strategies, such as reaching customers and partners (Vadana et al, 2021), handling transactions between platform users (Cha et al, 2023), and making international marketing decisions (Katsikeas et al, 2020), amongst others. Overall, our research adds to the existing body of work which acknowledges that location in IB should not be operationalized only at the country level and as geographical place (Beugelsdijk & Mudambi, 2013; Saittakari et al, 2023), and that it should not be associated merely with territorial borders understood as “lines in the sand.” We extend the concepts of location (that is, where a firm's activities occur) and borders by showing their more compound and multifaceted nature; specifically, we demonstrate three “modes” of bordering between physical place and digital space, namely soldering, interosculation, and division.…”

Transformation of enterprise management systems in the context of digitalization

“…Цифровизация исследуется в узком контексте как процесс роста числа и масштабов цифровых компаний вследствие диффузии цифровых технологий, и в широком -как финальная стадия информационной революции, которая привела к созданию принципиально новой среды обитания человека и функционирования бизнеса -среды социальных платформ [Vadana, 2021;Pallathadka, 2021].…”

“…Трансформация систем управления происходит благодаря уникальным управленческим и организаторским способностям человека преобразовывать знание в новые продукты и технологии [Autio, 2016]. Лидерские способности менеджеров и их мощный мотивационный управленческий ресурс формируют стратегию устойчивого развития предприятий и его финансовую эффективность [Vadana, 2021].…”