The influence of digitalization on international marketing decision: evidence from Chinese private enterprises

Purpose While the impact of digitalization on businesses has been extensively studied, the influence of digitalization on marketing outcomes in private enterprises has not received sufficient attention. The current study aims to examine how and when digitalization affects international marketing decisions in the context of private enterprises. Design/methodology/approach This study employs data from a survey of Chinese private enterprises conducted in 2020, which constitutes the world's largest dataset of its kind. Nearly 19,000 samples were included in the study. Additionally, we also incorporate supplementary data on digitalization in the Chinese region. Employing various methods, this study empirically and robustly examines the proposed research framework within the context of Chinese private enterprises. Findings Based on the resource-based view and agency theory, this paper found that digitalization can positively impact private enterprises’ direct and indirect international marketing decisions. Furthermore, we introduce the inclusion of innovation capacity and board governance as moderators in the model and find that board governance attenuates the influence of digitalization on international marketing decisions, while innovation capacity enhances the impact of digitalization on direct international marketing but diminishes its effect on indirect international marketing. Originality/value This study advances the understanding of the impact of digitalization on international marketing in private enterprises, thereby addressing the gap in the limited focus on digitalization in private enterprises. It also demonstrates how private enterprises effectively utilize digitalization to gain marketing advantages in the international market.