What the study found
The authors conclude that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are changing international business (IB) research by making it possible to analyze large, multimodal data and find patterns that support theoretical and empirical advances. They also present AI and ML as more than tools, describing them as forces that may reshape the future of IB research.
Why the authors say this matters
The study suggests that AI and ML can help connect methodological innovation with conceptual advancement in IB research. The authors say this matters because these methods may enrich core IB topics such as foreignness, legitimacy, internationalization strategy, corporate governance, distance, and deglobalization.
What the researchers tested
The paper is a structured roadmap and review rather than a primary empirical study. It reviews key AI and ML methods, including supervised learning, unsupervised learning, generative AI, and multimodal approaches, and explains how they can be used in international business research.
What worked and what didn't
The paper says AI and ML can be useful for analyzing large-scale, multimodal data and for uncovering patterns relevant to IB research. It also notes that the methodological breadth and technical complexity of these approaches create significant challenges for many IB scholars.
What to keep in mind
The abstract does not describe a dataset, experiment, or specific empirical test, so the summary is limited to the paper's conceptual and methodological claims. It also does not provide detailed limitations beyond noting the challenges posed by the breadth and complexity of AI and ML methods.
Key points
- AI and machine learning are presented as changing international business research.
- The paper reviews supervised, unsupervised, generative AI, and multimodal approaches.
- The authors say these methods can enrich topics such as foreignness, legitimacy, and deglobalization.
- The abstract highlights both opportunities and methodological challenges in using machine learning for IB research.
- The paper is a structured roadmap, not a primary empirical study.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- AI and machine learning reshape international business research
- Authors:
- Ajai Gaur, Evelyn Lin Peng, Chinmay Pattnaik, Yi Li
- Institutions:
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, The University of Sydney, The University of Sydney, The University of Sydney
- Publication date:
- 2026-03-03
- OpenAlex record:
- View
Get the weekly research newsletter
Stay current with peer-reviewed research without reading academic papers — one filtered digest, every Friday.

