This paper aims to examine how surveillance capitalism reshapes the relationship between the bright and dark sides of international business (IB). The authors argue that the dark side of organizing should not always be understood as a deviation from legitimate business practice but may instead become embedded within ordinary processes of value creation and constitute a source of competitive advantage. In doing so, they contribute to critical IB by explaining how digitalization enables this organizational transformation.
The study adopts a qualitative case study of BLOCKS, combining longitudinal analysis of annual reports (2000–2019), platform governance documents, including Product Idea Guidelines, Terms of Service, Privacy Policies, Cookie Policies and Parental Consent documents and direct engagement with the BLOCKS Ideas platform. This approach enables us to examine how user participation, data governance and digital infrastructures evolved alongside the company’s business model.
The findings reveal a gradual organizational transformation in which user participation evolved from a mechanism of co-creation into a source of organizational knowledge and, ultimately, into a digitally mediated system of value appropriation. As digitalization became central to the firm’s strategy, governance mechanisms, including consent, privacy and platform policies, legitimized the continuous appropriation of users’ ideas, behavioral data and interactions. Rather than operating as isolated governance tools, these legal and technological arrangements institutionalized asymmetrical relationships while maintaining the appearance of voluntary participation and innovation. These dynamics also extend to children, embedding surveillance practices within participation from an early age.
This paper advances critical IB by reconceptualizing the dark side of organizing as endogenous to value creation rather than as an unintended consequence of multinational activity. It further demonstrates that surveillance capitalism blurs the distinction between the bright and dark sides of IB by embedding asymmetrical appropriation within legitimate processes of innovation, participation and customer engagement. In doing so, the paper shows how digitalization enables multinational enterprises, including traditional manufacturing firms, to transform participation itself into a strategic source of competitive advantage.
