International Business in the Information and Digital Age

Rob van Tuldeis a Professor of International Business at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM), the Netherlands. He has published extensively on the topics of European business, multinationals, high-tech industries, corporate social responsibility, issues management, skills, network strategies, smaller industrial countries (welfare states) and European Community/Union policies.Alain Verbeke is a Professor of International Business Strategy and holds the McCaig Research Chair in management at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary, Canada. He is a leading thinker on complex project evaluation and the strategic management of multinational networks, as well as the governance and restructuring of complex organizations.Lucia Piscitello is a Professor of International Business at Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Her research interests cover the economics and management of MNEs and the international aspects of technological change. Her recent studies focus on agglomeration and MNEs' location strategies, globalization of R&D and technology development in the global network of MNEs.

This volume compiles 16 chapters on the interaction between multinational enterprises and the information and digital age and new opportunities and challenges that the information and digital age have created for multinational enterprises. Researchers from Brazil, Europe, the US, and China address trends, conceptualizations, and theoretical developments related to international production, information and communication technologies, and the effects of global connectivity on knowledge complexity; entrepreneurial strategies like blockchain ventures, e-commerce usage, internationalization strategies of Chinese digital platform firms, and business-to-business social media; aspects related to employees, services, and value chains, including smart services and additive manufacturing; and the regulatory context and its impact on the internationalization strategies of companies, clusters, and networks, such as Amazon and Alibaba, Italian companies, and science parks.

• Preface. A Tribute to Lorraine EdenChapter 1. The Fourth Industrial Revolution? Seven Lessons from the Past; Lorraine Eden Introduction. International Business in the Information and Digital Age: An Overview of Themes, Trends and the Contributions in this Volume; Rob van Tulder, Lucia Piscitello and Alain Verbeke PART I. TRENDS AND THEORY IN THE INFORMATION AGEChapter 2. International Production and the Digital Economy; Richard Bolwijn, Bruno Casella and James ZhanChapter 3. IB and Strategy Research on 'New' Information and Communication Technologies: Guidance for Future Research; Christopher Hazelhurst and Keith Brouthers;Chapter 4. The Changing Face of International Business in the Information Age; Jakob Müllner and Igor Filatotchev Chapter 5. The Effects of Global Connectivity on Knowledge Complexity in the Information Age; John Cantwell and Jessica Salmon ;PART II. ENTREPRENEURIAL STRATEGIES IN THE INFORMATION AGEChapter 6. Blockchain Ventures and International Business; Andre LaplumeChapter 7. Internationalization through Digitalization: The Impact of E-commerce Usage on Internationalization in Small and Medium-sized Firms; Jonas EduardsenChapter 8. Global Competitors? Mapping the Internationalization Strategies of Chinese Digital Platform Firms; Kai Jia, Martin Kenney and John ZysmanChapter 9. New Digital Layers of Business Relationships: Experiences from Business-to-Business Social Media; Susana Costa e Silva, Maria Elo PART III. FUNCTIONAL STRATEGIES IN THE INFORMATION AGEChapter 10. The Changing Structure of Talent for Innovation: On Demand Online Marketplaces; Keren Caspin-Wagner, Silvia Massini and Arie Y. Lewin Chapter 11. Expanding International Business via Smart Services: Insights from 'Hidden Champions' in the Machine Tool Industry; Bart KampChapter 12. Additive Manufacturing and Global Value Chains: An Empirical Investigation at the Country Level; Felippo Buonafede, Giulia Felice, Fabio Lamperti and Lucia PiscitelloPART IV. INDUSTRY 4.0 Chapter 13. Amazon and Alibaba: Internet Governance, Business Models, and Internationalization Strategies; Xinyi Wu and Gary Gereffi Chapter 14. Industry 4.0 Technologies and Internationalization: Insights from Italian Companies; Maria Chiarvesio and Rubina Romanello Chapter 15. On the Role of Clusters in Fostering the Industry 4.0; Marta Gotz and Barbara Jankowska Chapter 16. Internationalization of Science Parks: Experiences of Brazilian Innovation Environments; Jurema Tomelin, Mohamed Amal, Aurora Caneiro Zen and Pierfrancesco Arrabito