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.
