Sustainable international business: a retrospection and future research direction

The first section of the book addresses the interaction between international business activities and the economic aspect of sustainability. The first finding of this part of the book is that international business affects and is affected by economic and other pillars of sustainability. For example, in the chapter “Realisation of SDGs in Africa: An Impactful Political CSR Approach,” the author developed a political CSR model and contended that rejuvenating the SDGs in Africa through an impactful PCSR model can unleash the huge potential of international business in the realization of SDGs. In the chapter “Value Creation Impact: Role of Stakeholders in the Development of Sustainable Foreign Trade,” the author revealed that pursuing sustainability in an organization increases sustainable competitive advantage by improving global value chains and the perception of consumers and other market stakeholders. Second, embracing the economic aspect of sustainability requires reshaping the global supply chain functions and value chain activities. For example, in the chapter “Reshaping the World’s Supply Chain? A Case Study of Vietnam’s PAN Group Adopting the Circular Economy Concept,” the authors pointed out that sustainability, circular economy, and supply chain are interconnected concepts that are pivotal in promoting responsible and efficient resource management. In the chapter “Integration of Internal Audit and Sustainability Functions: A Business Model Suggestion,” in order to resolve significant disruptions and inefficiencies in the purchasing processes, the authors developed a novel business model that brings together different areas of expertise, prevents overlapping and duplication of purchasing tasks, and improves interdepartmental communication. Third, this part of the book revealed that firm-level digital capability helps internationalizing firms achieve sustainable economic development by facilitating access to foreign markets. For example, in the chapters “Mitigating the Negative Implications of Fake Social Media News on Internationalizing Firms: The Role of Social Media Capability” and “Network Ties and Opportunity Recognition in SME Internationalization in the Social Media Context,” the author found that social media capability facilitates internationalizing SMEs identify international opportunities, access foreign market information, and enhance the institutional legitimacy in foreign markets.