GSJ Special Issues

The magnitude and breadth of two unprecedented disruptions across the globe are significantly affecting the innovation activities and strategies of multinational enterprises (MNEs): (1) the advent of digital innovations such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, cloud and quantum computing, and the internet of things (IoT), and (2) the growing geopolitical tensions between major economies that are redefining the international competitive landscape. These disruptions are affecting how MNEs create and appropriate value from their innovation activities, including R&D and non-R&D activities as well as business models. Although the global strategy literature has asserted that MNEs must constantly reconfigure themselves and strategically realign their innovation efforts to capture and synthesize globally dispersed knowledge across different countries and appropriability regimes, these disruptive changes influence the viability and effectiveness of such firm strategies.

The purpose of this special issue is to shed light on disruptive technological and geopolitical changes that require MNEs to reassess the organization of innovation in the global context and its interaction with their strategies. We seek papers that examine the role of the context and contextual characteristics on the behavior of MNEs engaging in R&D, technological, and business model innovation in order to manage new dynamics and stay competitive in the face of disruptive changes. In providing a re-evaluation of existing theories and a closer empirical examination of related topics, the special issue aims to advance our understanding of the factors that shape MNEs’ global management of innovation, strategies and structures. By examining the new dynamics of MNE innovation in the global context and their strategies and strategic management, the Special Issue also intends to offer pragmatic recommendations for managers and policymakers to help navigate global disruptions.