Digitalization and international digital marketing: A review and research agenda

Abstract

With the growing need for digitalization in international marketing, this article explores how digital transformation facilitates the interaction between producers and consumers, promoting the introduction of products and services into the global market in a more efficient and cost effective way. Digital technologies can assist processes, reduce costs, increase competitiveness and enable entry into new markets, although international expansion requires cultural adaptation, regulatory compliance and outperforming competitors. To examine these issues, a bibliometric analysis was conducted using the Scopus database, with articles selected according to rigorous criteria and covering the period of the last 20 years. Despite the transformative role of digitalization, the literature presents gaps regarding SMEs’ adaptation of digital strategies to multicultural markets and the impact of digitalization on consumer confidence. The literature review highlights the fragmentation of research on digitalization and international digital marketing, reinforcing the need for a comprehensive synthesis. This analysis maps the scattered knowledge, proposing an agenda for future research and contributing to a deeper understanding of the intersection between digitalization and international marketing.