The internationalization of companies is increasingly dependent on their digitalization. Since companies started dematerializing borders and reducing costs with the usage of e-commerce, they have also changed how business is conducted. The introduction of mobile technologies, storage solutions (cloud computing), learning algorithms, and big data technologies has created new opportunities for companies and has increased digitalization. Data scientists can extract the most outstanding possible customer knowledge from a large amount of data produced by these technologies. The goal is to define new personalized products and services. Three-dimensional printers also represent a crucial advance in manufacturing techniques, as does the Internet of Things (IoT). The opportunities introduced by blockchain technology provide companies with transparent storage and transmission of information, which is secure and works without third parties based on code. In this context, it is possible to define four fields of activity related to the main internationalizing criteria. These are:
- Costs, accessibility, resources, and competencies.
- Market knowledge.
- Distance and location.
- Relational competencies and partner networks.
Technologies listed above have greater or lesser relevance in all the fields of activity previously mentioned. These technologies are always present when the companies want to become more international and more competitive. For the first criteria, IoT and virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR) technologies are good examples of tools to reduce production costs and potentially influence organizations and employees dramatically. For the second criterion, capturing and disseminating large amounts of data can accelerate internationalization. Processing these data allow, through predictive algorithms, to assess the current conditions of the company, as well as the possible attractiveness of new markets where it intends to conduct its activity. It s also possible to use advanced data-mining techniques, such as machine learning, for decision making. Artificial intelligence and statistical approaches can help companies build more adequate internationalization strategies.
On the other hand, it is shown that in machine-to-machine and machine-to-human interaction, IoT facilitates product customization. In addition, three-dimensional (3D) printers provide customers with more significant influence over the design of their products and the control of manufacturing origins. It is possible to develop a large community of users and create partnerships with local companies via the third criteria platform. Finally, it is possible to highlight data sharing between partners to reach target networks and make sustainable use of social networks and mass media for the last criterion. Digitalization is changing businesses worldwide because of globalization. In recent decades, the business pressure has increased to change radically; the emergence of global companies, such as Uber and Airbnb, can be highlighted, which sustain their globalization through technology and innovative business models. It is possible to find an efficient integration through the digitalization of processes and collaboration tools. In this context, the importance of digital transformation (DT) has increased and virtually affects all business segments.
There are 6 core technology trends that make Digital Transformation possible.
Websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking (e.g. Facebook, Twitter).
The use of mobile devices transformed how people interact, consume information and services, collaborate, and work.
Cybersecurity is the body of technologies, processes and practices designed to protect networks, computers, programs and data from attack, damage or unauthorized access.
A development of the Internet in which everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data.
Extremely large data sets may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions.
The practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer.