Disrupting International Business Ecosystems: Central Bank Digital Currencies and the Future of Payment Infrastructure A qualitative case study of the Digital Euro

Abstract

The accelerating digitalisation of the financial landscape presents strategic challenges for multinational corporations (MNCs). This study explores how central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) can disrupt international business ecosystems and how MNCs can strategically respond. Drawing on ecosystem theory, this study gain insights on how the digital euro may disrupt the European payment landscape by replacing fragmented, non-European dominated infrastructures with a unified, pan-European platform. This is done by presenting a single case study of the digital euro as an example of CBDCs, where Diebold Nixdorf serves as the main embedded subunit to further analyse how a MNC navigates this evolving context. The findings emphasise that the digital euro could mark a shift toward a structure driven ecosystem logic and accentuates the importance of developing organisational ambidexterity as a dynamic capability to balance exploration of emerging opportunities with exploitation of existing strengths. MNCs are recommended to early engage with CBDC issuers and potential ecosystem participants to influence the design. However, early engagement in CBDCs involves risks, including misaligned investments and dependency on evolving regulatory frameworks. Finally, the study concludes by outlining important implications for managers and policy makers helping them to navigate the eminent shift of the European payment landscape