This volume is dedicated to Lorraine Eden for herlifetime contributions to IB scholarship. Her research, spanning severaldecades, has addressed many interdisciplinary and societal themes at the heartof the IB field. The story of her intellectual journey -- strongly influenced bythe coming of age of the fourth industrial revolution -- is shared in the opening chapterof this volume.This thirteenth volume in the PIBR series covers an increasingly importantarea of research for International Business (IB) scholars: the role ofmultinational enterprises (MNEs) in the digital and information age. A limitednumber of MNEs now dominate the landscape of the digital age, but almost allinternationally operating firms are being affected by prevailing trends. How totake stock of these trends? How to develop resilient international businessmodels? How to regulate? The digital age presents new opportunities but alsomajor challenges for established and emerging MNEs alike.This volume brings together papers from leading IB scholars and from academics in adjacent disciplines such as economic geography,international relations and political science, strategic management, andtechnology studies.Four dimensions of the information and digital age are analyzed using an IB angle: Trends and theories in the information ageEntrepreneurial strategies in the informationageFunctional strategies in the information ageIndustry 4.0
Rob van Tuldeis a Professor of International Business at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM), the Netherlands. He has published extensively on the topics of European business, multinationals, high-tech industries, corporate social responsibility, issues management, skills, network strategies, smaller industrial countries (welfare states) and European Community/Union policies.Alain Verbeke is a Professor of International Business Strategy and holds the McCaig Research Chair in management at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary, Canada. He is a leading thinker on complex project evaluation and the strategic management of multinational networks, as well as the governance and restructuring of complex organizations.Lucia Piscitello is a Professor of International Business at Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Her research interests cover the economics and management of MNEs and the international aspects of technological change. Her recent studies focus on agglomeration and MNEs' location strategies, globalization of R&D and technology development in the global network of MNEs.