Study Analyzes How Emerging Market Multinationals Achieve Digital Maturity
Using data from 91 Brazilian multinationals, it was identified that subsidiaries play a crucial role in integrating the value chain and adopting digital technologies.

Digital transformation has become essential for companies' competitiveness in the modern era. While digitally born multinationals lead the process, emerging market multinationals (EMNEs) face unique challenges in integrating digital technologies into their operations. Therefore, this study explores how these companies seek digital maturity to compete globally, leveraging their subsidiaries and adapting to a dynamic digital environment.
The research was conducted by Maria Tereza Leme Fleury (FGV EAESP) and collaborators, including Afonso Fleury (Poli/USP), Luis Oliveira, and Pablo Leao. Published in the International Business Review, the study used data from 91 Brazilian multinationals and employed structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the adapted digital maturity model originally proposed by the German National Academy of Sciences and Engineering (ACATECH).
The study presents Digital Maturity Capability (DMC) as a set of critical organizational competencies. These include the strategic use of technology, data management, team empowerment, organizational design, and promoting a digital culture. These five dimensions support the dynamic capabilities of perception, leveraging, and transformation in emerging market multinationals.
The study highlights that foreign subsidiaries are essential for transferring local knowledge and promoting innovations. They act as bridges between the parent company and market ecosystems, helping the company make digitally enabled decisions and integrate into global value chains.
Thus, digital maturity in emerging market multinationals depends on interconnected factors: digital technical capability (DTC), essential for integrating technologies into operational processes; efficient data management, which transforms information into strategic decisions; and the development of digital competencies in the workforce.
Moreover, agile organizational design and the promotion of a digital culture accelerate innovation. Foreign subsidiaries act as knowledge hubs that influence the parent company. Companies that invest in these areas enhance their global competitiveness, achieving more efficient processes, integration into value chains, and greater strategic agility.
The findings of this research provide guidelines for EMNE managers seeking to implement digital transformations. The adaptation of the ACATECH model to include critical dimensions such as people management and digital culture reinforces the applicability of the study in diverse organizational contexts. In summary, the pursuit of digital maturity is essential for emerging market multinationals to remain competitive in the digital age. Thus, it is possible to maximize the synergy between their global and local operations.
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