Corruptive practices, digitalization, and international business

Abstract

This perspective paper, including the role of an editorial, systematically reviews extant studies on ‘multinational corporations’ corruption’ and ‘digitalization’ in the international business (IB) domain, revealing why this special issue is both timely and necessary. We chronologically identify recent key studies that have been influential in the research on corruptive practices and digitalization in IB, and examine their main findings. We find that interdisciplinary research simultaneously exploring corruptive practices and digitalization is still in its infancy, and while some contributions have been made, there is still a large research vacuum. In addition, we introduce the twelve papers chosen for this special issue, which we believe represent meaningful breakthroughs and offer useful academic implications. We conclude by suggesting invaluable paths for future research to extend our understanding of the theme.