World Investment Report 2025: international investment in the digital economy

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) annual World Investment Report (WIR) provides crucial yearly updates on global foreign direct investment (FDI) and investment policy trends, as well as insights into the sustainable investment landscape. It also introduces readers to a pertinent and contemporary topic that sits at the heart of today’s global investment agenda. This year’s 35th report focuses on investment in the digital economy (for previous WIR reviews in this journal, see, for instance, Giroud (2024) on investing in sustainable energy for all or Giroud &amp; Bonilla-Feret (2025) on investment facilitation and digital government). The review follows the usual structure, where Chapter 1 covers global trends in FDI and multinational enterprise (MNE) activities over the past year; Chapter 2 presents national and international investment policies; Chapter 3 introduces recent changes in sustainable finance and responsible investment; whilst Chapter 4, the thematic chapter, deepens the readers’ understanding of international investment in the digital economy. In this review, we examine the recurring chapters (i.e. chapters 1, 2, 3), offer a critique of Chapter 4, and conclude with suggestions for future International Business (IB) research related to this chapter. Specifically, we develop suggestions on how IB research can create impact by engaging with research on investments in the digital economy and discuss how the ‘new reality’ of a more digital economy provides fruitful avenues for research in IB, specifically on global strategy and global sustainability.<br/><br/>