Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, City U. of New York, United States
In an era marked by both de-globalization trends and the rise of digital internationalization, this paper presents a novel perspective on how regional armed conflicts may paradoxically facilitate international expansion via digital ecommerce platform. Challenging traditional views that associate geopolitical tensions with reduced international business involvement, this study reveals an unexpected catalyst for cross-border customer acquisition through digital internationalization. Utilizing a difference-in-differences quasi-experimental design, we examine the impact of the breakout of Russia-Ukraine conflict escalation on the international web-search traffic of conflict-affected European eCommerce websites in countries adjacent to Russia and Ukraine, compared to their non-adjacent counterparts. Our findings challenge accepted wisdom and highlight a novel form of international involvement that thrives amidst geopolitical strife, offering insights into the evolving dynamics of how digital ecommerce platforms thrive in and exploit geopolitical disruptions, enriching our understanding of IB theory in the digital age. Our research contributes to the literature in geopolitical tensions in international business, new forms of international market entry, and digital internationalization process.
