Miami Herbert Business School professor Yadong Luo and co-author Satish Nambisan of Case Western Reserve have been awarded the Axiom Award Gold Medal for their book " The Digital Multinational: Navigating the New Normal in Global Business,” published by MIT Press.
The book, recognized in the International Business/Globalization category, explores how digital technologies have transformed multinational corporations and provides guidance on how to effectively implement digital global strategies.
The motivation behind Luo and Nambisan's book was the transformative impact of digitalization on the way international businesses operate.
“We were motivated to advise managers and scholars on how to effectively implement digital global strategies and how to serve global stakeholders via digital connectivity,” said Luo, a professor of management and Emery Findley Distinguished Chair. “We were also motivated to help multinationals adopt a dual strategy to cope with the new global normal—harnessing the power of digital technology while adapting to the geopolitical realities of particular markets.”
The authors define digital multinationals as those international businesses that build their competitive advantages through digital technologies and architecture, and they highlight features such as open resource access, extensive connectivity to worldwide customers, and virtual communication and knowledge sharing for a global workforce.
As examples of successful digital multinationals, Luo singled out Natura and SAP.
Natura is a cosmetics and personal-care company in Brazil that has mostly gone digital. It uses advanced data analysis to offer personalized experiences to its over 100 million customers worldwide. It has an online monitoring system to analyze sales, customer interactions, and consultants. The company also uses an open platform that delivers individualized services to customers worldwide.
SAP Business One is a global business solution that helps companies manage their operations efficiently. It can be used by businesses in different countries and with different languages. It allows for simple integration with other systems and helps companies standardize their operations while still being able to meet local needs.
Digitalization and globalization have converged to create a new era of digital globalization, but Luo cautions that with new opportunities come new challenges such as cyberattacks, information security, and regulatory barriers.
“To overcome such challenges, companies need to be savvy not only in digital technologies and digital intelligence but digital culture and organizational architecture that make digital connectivity work efficiently in a globally integrated yet locally adaptive network system,” said Luo.
In response to winning the Axiom Book Award Gold Medal, Luo expressed his gratitude, stating, "I am honored to receive this award. As we all know, academic research and writing can be a challenging and often solitary pursuit. However, this award is a reminder that our efforts are not in vain, and that our contributions to knowledge and society are valued and appreciated."
This book is one of the twenty books, along with more than two hundred journal articles, written by Luo.
