The advent of Industry 4.0 has brought about a shift in the perception of MNEs and their role in the global economy. This is especially evident in the information technology sector, where MNEs are increasingly harnessing the power of digital twins to drive circular economy practices and broader corporate sustainability ambitions. This paper extensively examines the relationship between Industry 4.0, circular economy concepts, and organizational social practices. Hence, it brings out how MNEs employ embedded sustainable IoT metrics. The paper, therefore, looks at how digital twins as an Industry 4.0 technology may lead MNEs into sustainable business models while fostering ethical corporate cultures by analyzing linkages among them. It is hoped that this research will provide scholars with an understanding of how complex processes shape sustainable practices within MNEs amidst Industry 4.0 background knowledge. We develop a model to show the SDG problem relevant to stakeholders and the necessary questions to be asked by the MNEs pursuing their CSR goals, which seems to be the need of the hour. As such, they can get practical advice on how to prioritize social responsibility over environmental consciousness simultaneously from practitioners and legislators.

Our research delves into the relationship between the digital internationalization of going-digital retail multinational enterprises (MNEs) and their financial performance. We initially argue that the digital internationalization–performance (DI–P) relationship of going-digital retail MNEs is U-shaped because they incur higher costs in their initial digital internationalization efforts due to their limited knowledge of launching and operating digital channels in foreign markets. Yet, as their digital internationalization progresses, they learn and accumulate relevant knowledge that allows them to benefit from scaling, bundling, and adapting their digital strategy globally. We then contend that the DI–P relationship strengthens for going-digital retail MNEs that (a) have larger physical retail selling space and (b) originate from a home country with a physical infrastructure advantage when compared to that of their host country. We employ an 11-year panel consisting of data from the largest retail MNEs worldwide and find support for our hypotheses.

This study examines the impact of Big Data Analytics (BDA) utilization on firms' international performance, particularly the degree of internationalization. Departing from conventional approaches, we explore the determinant of internationalization through the lens of BDA utilization. Our research addresses the interactions between BDA utilization and technological discontinuity, performance feedback, and organizational legitimacy, shedding light on their distinct roles in shaping internationalization outcomes. By introducing an inertia perspective, we uncover a negative interaction between performance feedback and BDA, influencing internationalization. The study also reveals the inhibiting effect of institutionalization inertia resulting from the interaction between BDA utilization and organizational legitimacy. Moreover, we identify organizational technological discontinuity as a crucial boundary condition enhancing international success for BDA-utilizing firms. Our findings offer valuable insights into the evolving landscape of BDA and international business, benefiting academics, practitioners, and policymakers.

This study aims to shed new light on the evolutionary ways and means by which Chinese latecomer firms in the photovoltaic and wind power industries have (more or less successfully) gained in techno-economic performance from a configurational, set-theoretic perspective. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) is used for data analysis. Firm-specific learning orientations are considered in the context of international learning scope and major internal and external learning mechanisms, taking into account in-house R&D, strategic technology alliances, technological M&As, and infant technology springboards such as infant R&D internationalization, technology licensing, and subcontracting. Overall, the empirical findings suggest that differences in latecomer catch-up strategies and processes related to learning, technological capability building, and innovation are associated with differences in firm performance. Multi-modal configurations of learning orientations are found to differ across firms as well as firm performance classes. In this way, the study also contributes to a finer-grained understanding of Chinese internationalization.