Information and Communication Technology Adoption Strategies of Emerging Multinationals From India

The growth and rising prominence of multinationals from emerging markets (eMNCs) mark a significant phase in the evolution of the world economy in the last decade. This study investigates the effect of eMNCs' institutional embeddedness in terms of age on the adoption strategy of new and emerging information and communication technologies (ICT). Using panel multiple regression on a unique database of 3,756 observations from 394 Indian eMNCs in period of 2009 to 2019, the authors find that firm age has a unique negative impact on ICT investments of eMNCs. However, ownership is able to influence the negative impact of age in unique ways. Business group affiliation attenuates the impact of firm age on ICT investments, such that the reduction in ICT investments with firm age is less for BG-affiliated firms. Meanwhile, the higher the foreign institutional ownership in eMNCs, the lower the impact of firm age on ICT investments.