Engineering

Ecology

Geopolitics

Biology

Economic system

Sustainability

Public relations

Ophthalmology

Telecommunications

Economics

Computer science

Business

Corporate sustainability

Mechanical engineering

Politics

Digitization

Political science

Value (mathematics)

Work (physics)

Corporate social responsibility

Globe

Industrial organization

Medicine

Multinational corporation

Finance

Digital transformation

Machine learning

Journal of World Business

We discuss how environmental and pandemic crises in combination with digitization are presenting the multinational enterprise (MNE) with increasing geopolitical, organizational, and market tensions. Institutional pluralism is creating a more complex global environment. The organization of productive work is shifting, which challenges how MNEs structure and coordinate their activities. Changing consumer and investor expectations are broadening the understanding of value creation with implications for business models. We contend that the tensions invite MNEs to reconsider how they frame, formalize, and realize corporate purpose. We close with a research agenda that recognizes the need for MNEs to become purpose-driven actors.

Digital transformation, sustainability, and purpose in the multinational enterprise