This study aims to investigate whether and how corporate digitalization promotes multinational enterprises’ (MNEs’) outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), particularly in developing countries along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It further seeks to uncover the internal and external boundary conditions under which digitalization translates into greater international investment activity by integrating firm-level strategy and host-country digital environment into a unified analytical framework.
Grounded in the resource-based view (RBV), this study empirically examines the impact of corporate digitalization on OFDI. Using an unbalanced panel data set of 2,780 Chinese listed MNEs from 2013 to 2022, overseas subsidiaries serve as the unit of analysis. Firm-level digitalization is measured through objective digital input–output indicators using an entropy-weight method, while moderating variables include corporate digital strategic orientation and host-country digital infrastructure.
The corporate digitalization significantly promotes OFDI: more digitally advanced MNEs engage more actively in overseas investment. This positive relationship is strengthened when firms exhibit a stronger digital strategic orientation, indicating the critical role of strategy alignment. Moreover, higher levels of host-country digital infrastructure amplify the effect of firm digitalization on OFDI, especially in developing economies. These findings remain robust across alternative measures, subsamples and instrumental-variable estimations.
This study advances international business and digitalization research by integrating micro-level strategic orientation and macro-level digital infrastructure within the RBV to explain OFDI. It offers a dynamic interpretation of digital resources as sources of international competitive advantage providing actionable insights for managers and policymakers seeking to leverage digital transformation to foster sustainable OFDI.
