Prior research on digitalization and the management and organization of the multinational enterprise presents two opposing views: that digitalization requires the development of new theoretical models, and that digitalization simply requires a revisiting of existing theoretical models of MNE. We juxtapose these positions on the theoretical understanding of the MNE as an internationally distributed network of units by studying how eleven U.S. multinationals organize to leverage digitalization. Our findings reveal the key structural aspects as well as coordination and control dimensions of the MNE as an internationally distributed network of work, highlighting notable differences to the classic view of the multinational as a network of internationally distributed units. The insights from our study contribute to the literature on multinational organization and management as well as literatures at the intersection of international business and digitalization and international human resource management.
