How multinational companies can use digital technology to compete in a
world where business is driven by the forces of both globalization and
deglobalization.
Digital technology has put globalization on steroids; multinational
companies now account for one-third of world GDP and one-fourth of world
employment. And yet complicating this story of unchecked global
capitalism are two contradictory forces. Even as advances in digital
technology enable borderless markets, a new nationalism has emerged,
reviving protectionism and railing against digital colonialism. In The
Digital Multinational, management experts Satish Nambisan and Yadong
Luo examine how companies can adopt a dual strategy to cope with this
new normal: harnessing the power of digital technology while adapting to
the geopolitical realities of particular markets.
Key to success, Nambisan and Luo explain, is the notion of tight and
loose coupling to characterize the relationship of the digital
multinational to its global partners and subsidiaries. Identifying the
tightness-looseness requirements of global business connectivity leads
to successful business strategy. Drawing on real-world examples that
include Burberry's entrance into the Chinese market, Unilever's
AI-powered global talent marketplace, and the Vocal for Local movement
in India, they develop a typology of global business contexts; discuss
digital strategies for entering new markets, establishing digital
platforms, managing globally dispersed activities, and pursuing
innovation; and explain how these strategies can be part of a business
leader's toolkit. The Digital Multinational is an essential guide to
competing in a business world driven by both globalization and
deglobalization.