Theme: Liability of Foreignness in the Digital Age
Submission Deadline: June 15, 2019
Overview: Since Zaheer (1995) established the concept of liability of foreignness, scholars have sought to enrich our knowledge of how foreignness affects strategic decision of and outcomes for foreign subsidiaries. That said, the digital age has brought forth a new set of opportunities and challenges for multinational enterprises in the form of architecture and connectivity; global digital platforms, data analytics, and artificial intelligence; digital ecosystems; and new organizational structures and decision rights. For example, Siemens is undergoing a major transformation from selling power generators and medical diagnostic equipment to emphasizing value-added services using digitally connected equipment. Netflix, Alibaba, and Uber have successfully penetrated markets by digitally-connected consumers and devices. Similarly, Rolls-Royce and General Electric have created new opportunities by delivering digitally enabled services.1 Likewise, technological advances have made it easier for internal and external cross-border communication. Nevertheless, the digital age is fundamentally changing the way MNEs operate – lowering some barriers and creating new obstacles. As a result, the digital age is changing the way we need to think about foreignness. This year, there is a special track devoted to the conference’s theme.
This year’s conference takes place in San Antonio, TX, in cooperation with University of Texas – San Antonio. San Antonio has a long tradition in health care; however, it has quietly established itself as a home for cyber security and cloud services. Moreover, it has earned the nickname “Military City USA” with its many military installations, most notably, Fort Sam Houston.