Impact of AI on MNC governance and IB research

This paper investigates the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the Corporate Governance (CG) of Multinational Corporations (MNCs). Specifically, we analyse three case studies (automotive, telecommunications, insurance) to understand what AI-specific governance mechanisms they have in place or are working on. Because AI success relies strongly on resources in an organization’s environment – such as data, regulatory support, and the legitimacy of corporate activities – we build on Resource Dependence Theory to structure the results. Overall, our qualitative data suggests that MNCs have little to none formalized AI-specific governance established so far. However, our results also imply that substantial interdependencies exist between the management of the organization’s environment and successful AI activities of MNCs. Building on these results, we conclude with a preliminary agenda for future IB research on effective AI governance.