Digitalisation, digital services and companies' internationalisation : A literature review

Abstract

Digitalisation provides unprecedented opportunities for companies to operate globally. These opportunities have given rise to a growing number of studies regarding the interrelated topics of digitalisation, digital services and international business. In this systematic literature review, we reviewed 41 journal articles on this multidisciplinary topic in order to provide an overview of the current themes and roles of digitalisation in companies’ internationalisation. We found that the existing studies mainly tested the applicability of previous international business theories in the digital era, instead of trying to develop new frameworks and models. Additionally, while the reviewed papers highlighted the importance of digitalisation and digital services, they rarely indicated the specific details explaining how or why digitalisation enables the internationalisation of companies. From this review, we would suggest that the theories drawn from international business and information systems need to be better integrated. We would also call for a deeper investigation into the idiosyncratic nature of the characteristics of digital services, which would help to develop this emerging research area.