ABSTRACT
Technology has always been a key driver of international business (IB) activity, but with the acceleration of information technology, digitisation and automation, this truism likely applies more today than ever before. The chapter begins by exploring multinational enterprises’ (MNEs’) implementation of two leading modern technologies – artificial intelligence and robotics – by scrutinising the contexts within which they are being developed as well as their current and future impacts on upstream and downstream multinational functions. The chapter’s second section then revisits these topics from a career perspective. Initial analysis here relates to the effects that the aforementioned technological advances are likely to have on the skill sets expected of future practitioners, the different possibilities for acquiring such competencies and the geographic implications. The section (and the book) then concludes with reflections on life in a MNE, offering real-life storytelling to supplement and reinforce international human resource management curriculum.
