Digitalization has dramatically expanded the scale and scope of cross-border trade for international businesses, whether large multinational enterprises (MNEs), medium- to small-sized MNEs, or importing/exporting firms. In this paper, we examine how and to what extent migrants facilitate cross-border digital trade between their country of origin and country of residence. We argue that the rise in digital trade between countries is observed, in part, due to the rise of international knowledge connections facilitated by cross-border migrant relationships. Empirical analysis of migration and services trade panel data for the high- and upper-middle-income trading partners of the United States from 2000 to 2020 shows that recent migrants (or non-immigrants) to the United States increased exports to their country of origin. More importantly, we find that permanent migrants (or immigrants) embedded in their country of residence significantly increased exports to their country of origin. Implications for an interdisciplinary dialogue between economic theories of knowledge and institutional change on the one hand and economic sociology and migrant transnationalism on the other are discussed.
AgrawalA.KapurD.McHaleJ.. 2008. “How do Spatial and Social Proximity Influence Knowledge Flows? Evidence from Patent Data.” Journal of Urban Economics64 (2): 258–69.
2.
AgrawalA.KapurD.McHaleJ.OettlA.. 2011. “Brain Drain or Brain Bank? The Impact of Skilled Emigration on Poor-Country Innovation.” Journal of Urban Economics69 (1): 43–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2010.06.003.
3.
AkerlofG. A.1970. “The Market for “Lemons”: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics84 (3): 488–500.
4.
AlmeidaP.PheneA.LiS.. 2015. “The Influence of Ethnic Community Knowledge on Indian Inventor Innovativeness.” Organization Science26 (1): 198–217.
5.
AndersonJ. E.van WincoopE.. 2003. “Gravity with Gravitas: A Solution to the Border Puzzle.” The American Economic Review93 (1): 170–92.
6.
AutioE.MudambiR.YooY.. 2021. “Digitalization and Globalization in a Turbulent World: Centrifugal and Centripetal Forces.” Global Strategy Journal11 (1): 3–16.
7.
AzoulayP.JonesB. F.KimJ. D.MirandaJ.. 2022. “Immigration and Entrepreneurship in the United States.” American Economic Review-Insights4 (1): 71–88.
8.
BaharD.ChoudhuryP.MiguelezE.SignorelliS.. 2024. “Global Mobile Inventors.” Journal of Development Economics171: 103357.
9.
BaharD.ChoudhuryP.RapoportH.. 2020. “Migrant Inventors and the Technological Advantage of Nations.” Research Policy49 (9): 103947.
10.
BatheltH.CantwellJ. A.. 2025. “Communities in the Internationalization Process.” ZFW—Advances in Economic Geography69 (1): 55–72. https://doi.org/10.1515/zfw-2024-0073.
11.
BatheltH.CantwellJ. A.MudambiR.. 2018. “Overcoming Frictions in Transnational Knowledge Flows: Challenges of Connecting, Sense-Making and Integrating.” Journal of Economic Geography18 (5): 1001–22. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeg/lby047.
12.
BatheltH.HennS.. 2025. Creating Knowledge Over Distance: The Role of Temporary Proximity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
13.
BatheltH.LiP.. 2020. “Processes of Building Cross-Border Knowledge Pipelines.” Research Policy49 (3): 103928.
14.
BatheltH.SchuldtN.. 2010. “International Trade Fairs and Global Buzz, Part I: Ecology of Global Buzz.” European Planning Studies18 (12): 1957–74.
15.
BellucciC.RubínováS.PiermartiniR.. 2025. “Better Together: How Digital Connectivity and Regulation Reduce Trade Costs.” Review of International Economics33 (3): 796–814. https://doi.org/10.1111/roie.12807.
16.
BlumB. S.GoldfarbA.. 2006. “Does the Internet Defy the law of Gravity?” Journal of International Economics70 (2): 384–405.
17.
BrannenM. Y.2004. “When Mickey Loses Face: Recontextualization, Semantic fit, and the Semiotics of Foreignness.” Academy of Management Review29 (4): 593–616.
18.
BrattiM.De BenedictisL.SantoniG.. 2014. “On the pro-Trade Effects of Immigrants.” Review of World Economics150 (3): 557–94.
19.
BretonR.1964. “Institutional Completeness of Ethnic Communities and the Personal Relations of Immigrants.” The American Journal of Sociology70 (2): 193–205. https://doi.org/10.1086/223793.
20.
BrouthersK. D.GeisserK. D.RothlaufF.. 2016. “Explaining the Internationalization of Ibusiness Firms.” Journal of International Business Studies47 (5): 513–34.
21.
CaiH.MengY.ChakrabortyS.. 2021. “Migrants and Exports: Decomposing the Link.” Journal of World Business56 (2): 101166.
22.
CameronC.TrivediP. K.. 2010. Microeconometrics Using Stata. College Station, Texas: Stata Press.
23.
CantwellJ.MarraM.. 2024. “Innovation and International Business Policy.” In Handbook of International Business Policy, edited by GuglerPhilippeTavares-HemannA. T., 156–69. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited UK.
24.
CantwellJ.ShuklaP.. 2025. “Spatial Development of Technological Knowledge and the Evolution of International Business Activity Across Technological Paradigms.” International Business Review34 (1): 102356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2024.102356.
25.
CantwellJ.ZamanS.. 2024. “International Knowledge Connectivity and the Increasing Concentration of Innovation in major Global Cities.” Journal of Economic Geography24 (3): 415–40.
26.
CantwellJ.ZhangF.. 2011. “Technological Complexity and the Evolving Structure of MNC Subsidiary Knowledge Accumulation.” Economia e Politica Industriale (1): 5–33. https://doi.org/10.3280/POLI2011-004001.
27.
CerdinJ. L.DineM. A.BrewsterC.. 2014. “Qualified Immigrants’ Success: Exploring the Motivation to Migrate and to Integrate.” Journal of International Business Studies45 (2): 151–68.
28.
ChoudhuryP.2022. “How “Digital Nomad” Visas Can Boost Local Economies.” Harvard Business Review Digital Articles: 1–6.
29.
ChoudhuryP.KimD. Y.. 2019. “The Ethnic Migrant Inventor Effect: Codification and Recombination of Knowledge Across Borders.” Strategic Management Journal40 (2): 203–29.
30.
DamA. V.2022. “Why have Millions of Americans Moved to these Countries Instead?” The Washington Post.
31.
DiY. A.ZhiR. X.SongH. X.ZhangL.. 2022. “Development and Influencing Factors of International Trade in Digitally Deliverable Services.” Frontiers in Psychology13: 1–13.
32.
EllisP.2000. “Social Ties and Foreign Market Entry.” Journal of International Business Studies31 (3): 443–69.
33.
EllisP. D.2011. “Social Ties and International Entrepreneurship: Opportunities and Constraints Affecting Firm Internationalization.” Journal of International Business Studies42 (1): 99–127.
34.
FelbermayrG. J.ToubalF.. 2012. “Revisiting the Trade-Migration Nexus: Evidence from New OECD Data.” World Development40: 928–37.
35.
FiallosA.LiberatoreA.. 2023. “Decoding Global Services Trade: The Power of the OECD-WTO BaTIS Dataset.”
36.
FitzsimmonsS. R.2013. “Multicultural Employees: A Framework for Understanding how They Contribute to Organizations.” Academy of Management Review38 (4): 525–49.
37.
FleckL.1979. Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
38.
FoleyC. F.KerrW. R.. 2013. “Ethnic Innovation and U.S. Multinational Firm Activity.” Management Science59 (7): 1529–44.
39.
FreemanC.PerezC.. 1988. “Structural Crises of Adjustment, Business Cycles, and Investment Behavior.” In Technical Change and Economic Theory, edited by DosiG.FreemanC.NelsonR.SilverbergG.SoeteL., 38–66. London: Pinter Publishers.
40.
FurusawaM.BrewsterC.. 2015. “The bi-Cultural Option for Global Talent Management: The Japanese/Brazilian Nikkeijin Example.” Journal of World Business50 (1): 133–43.
41.
GaoH.2018. “Regulation of Digital Trade in US Free Trade Agreements: From Trade Regulation to Digital Regulation.” Legal Issues of Economic Integration45 (1): 47–70.
42.
GillespieK.RiddleL.SayreE.SturgesD.. 1999. “Diaspora Interest in Homeland Investment.” Journal of International Business Studies30 (3): 623–34.
43.
GirmaS.YuZ. H.. 2002. “The Link Between Immigration and Trade: Evidence from the United Kingdom.” Review of World Economics138: 115–30.
44.
GlennieA.ChappellL.. 2010. Show Me the Money (and Opportunity): Why Skilled People Leave Home — and Why They Sometimes Return. The Online Journal of the Migration Policy Institute. Accessed 9/8/15.
GonzálezJ. L.SorescuS.KaynakP.. 2023. “Of Bytes and Trade: Quantifying the Impact of Digitalisation on Trade.”
48.
GonzálezL.JouanjeanJ. M.. 2017. “Digital Trade: Developing a Framework for Analysis.” OECD Trade Policy Papers, No. 205 (205).
49.
GouldD. M.1994. “Immigrant Links to the Home Country: Empirical Implications for U.S. Bilateral Trade Flows.” Review of Economics & Statistics76 (2): 302.
50.
GranovetterM.1973. “The Strength of Weak Ties.” American Journal of Sociology78 (6): 1360–80.
51.
GranovetterM., 1985. “Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness.” American Journal of Sociology91 (3): 481–510.
52.
HajroA.BrewsterC.Haak-SaheemW.MorleyM. J.. 2023. “Global Migration: Implications for International Business Scholarship.” Journal of International Business Studies54 (6): 1134–50.
53.
HajroA.ŽilinskaitėM.GibsonC.BaldassariP.MayrhoferW.BrewsterC.BrannenM. Y.. 2022. “Movement of People Across Borders: Transdisciplinary Research to Meet the Challenges in Migration, Business, and Society.” Academy of Management Discoveries9 (2): 125–31. https://doi.org/10.5465/amd.2022.0058
54.
HatzigeorgiouA.LodefalkM.. 2019. “Migration and Servicification: Do Immigrant Employees Spur Firm Exports of Services?” World Economy42 (11): 3368–401.
55.
HatzigeorgiouA.LodefalkM.. 2021. “A Literature Review of the Nexus Between Migration and Internationalization.” The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development30 (3): 319–40.
56.
HeadK.RiesJ.. 1998. “Immigration and Trade Creation: Econometric Evidence from Canada.” Canadian Journal of Economics31 (1): 47.
57.
HirschmanC.2004. “The Role of Religion in the Origins and Adaptation of Immigrant Groups in the United States.” International Migration Review38 (3): 1206–33.
58.
HirschmanC.KasinitzP.DeWindJ.. 1999. The Handbook of International Migration : The American Experience. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
59.
HortacsuA.Asis Martinez-JerezF.DouglasJ.. 2009. “The Geography of Trade in Online Transactions: Evidence from EBay and MercadoLibre.” American Economic Journal: Microeconomics1 (1): 53–74.
60.
IMF. 2023. Handbook on Measuring Digital Trade. Second Edition. Paris: OECD Publishing.
61.
IOM-InternationalOrganizationforMigration. 2017. “Integration and Social Cohesion: Key Elements for Reaping the Benefits of Migration.” IOM Global Compact Thematic Paper.
62.
ItzigsohnJ.SaucedoS. G.. 2002. “Immigrant Incorporation and Sociocultural Transnationalism.” The International Migration Review36 (3): 766–98.
63.
KaufmannD.KraayA.. 2023. “The Worldwide Governance Indicators.” 2023 Update (www.govindicators.org), Accessed on 01/09/2024.
64.
KerrW. R.MandorffM.. 2015. “Social Networks, Ethnicity, and Entrepreneurship.” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series 21597.
65.
KimuraF.LeeH.-H.. 2006. “The Gravity Equation in International Trade in Services.” Review of World Economics142 (1): 92–121. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10290-006-0058-8.
66.
KulchinaE.2016. “A Path to Value Creation for Foreign Entrepreneurs.” Strategic Management Journal37 (7): 1240–62.
67.
LandoltP.AutlerL.BairesS.. 1999. “From Hermano Lejano to Hermano mayor: The Dialectics of Salvadoran Transnationalism.” Ethnic and Racial Studies22: 290–315.
68.
LevittP.JaworskyB. N.. 2007. “Transnational Migration Studies: Past Developments and Future Trends.” Annual Review of Sociology33 (1): 129–56.
69.
LevittP.SchillerN. G.. 2004. “Conceptualizing Simultaneity: A Transnational Social Field Perspective on Society.” The International Migration Review38 (3): 1002–39.
70.
MarinoA.MudambiR.PerriA.ScaleraV. G.. 2020. “Ties That Bind: Ethnic Inventors in Multinational Enterprises’ Knowledge Integration and Exploitation.” Research Policy49 (9): 103956.
71.
MasseyD. S.ArangoJ.HugoG.KouaouciA.PellegrinoA.TaylorJ. E.. 1993. “Theories of International Migration: A Review and Appraisal.” Population and Development Review19 (3): 431–66.
72.
McPhersonM.Smith-LovinL.CookJ. M.. 2001. “Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks.” Annual Review of Sociology27: 415–44.
73.
MeltzerJ. P.2019. “Governing Digital Trade.” World Trade Review18: S23–48.
74.
MeyerK. E.LiJ.BrouthersK. D.“Bryan” JeanR.-J.. 2023. “International Business in the Digital age: Global Strategies in a World of National Institutions.” Journal of International Business Studies54 (4): 577–98.
75.
MiguelezE.MorrisonA.. 2022. “Migrant Inventors as Agents of Technological Change.” The Journal of Technology Transfer48 (2): 669–92.
76.
MiroudotS.CadestinC.. 2017. “Services In Global Value Chains.” OECD Trade Policy Papers.
77.
MonaghanS.TippmannE.CovielloN.. 2020. “Born Digitals: Thoughts on Their Internationalization and a Research Agenda.” Journal of International Business Studies51 (1): 11–22.
78.
MorganH. M.SuiS.MalhotraS.. 2021. “No Place Like Home: The Effect of Exporting to the Country of Origin on the Financial Performance of Immigrant-Owned SMEs.” Journal of International Business Studies52 (3): 504–24.
79.
NayakD.MoreiraS.MudambiR.. 2024. “Restrictive Immigration Policies and MNE Innovation.” Journal of International Business Studies56 (1): 84–104.
80.
NelsonR. R.WinterS. G.. 1982. An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
81.
NorthD. C.1990. Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. New York: Cambridge University Press.
PapkeL. E.WooldridgeJ. M.. 2008. “Panel Data Methods for Fractional Response Variables with an Application to Test Pass Rates.” Journal of Econometrics145 (1): 121–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2008.05.009.
86.
PasselJ. S.KrogstadJ. M.MoslimaniM.. 2024. “How the Origins of America’s Immigrants have Changed since 1850.” Pew Research Center Online. Accessed July 30, 2024.
87.
PoppoL.ZengerT.. 2002. “Do Formal Contracts and Relational Governance Function as Substitutes or Complements?” Strategic Management Journal23 (8): 707.
88.
PortesA.GuarnizoL. E.LandoltP.. 1999. “The Study of Transnationalism: Pitfalls and Promise of an Emergent Research Field.” Ethnic and Racial Studies22 (2): 217–37.
89.
PortesA.HallerW. J.GuarnizoL. E.. 2002. “Transnational Entrepreneurs: An Alternative Form of Immigrant Economic Adaptation.” American Sociological Review67 (2): 278–98.
90.
PortesA.SensenbrennerJ.. 1993. “Embeddedness and Immigration: Notes on the Social Determinants of Economic Action.” American Journal of Sociology98 (6): 1320–50.
91.
RabbiosiL.Di LorenzoF.PheneA.AlmeidaP.. 2023. “Non-Ethnic Inventor Sourcing of Immigrant Knowledge: The Role of Social Communities.” In The Palgrave Handbook of Global Migration in International Business, edited by MockaitisAudra I., 433–61. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
92.
RauchJ. E.2001. “Business and Social Networks in International Trade.” Journal of Economic Literature39 (4): 1177.
93.
RauchJ. E.TrindadeV.. 2002. “Ethnic Chinese Networks in International Trade.” Review of Economics & Statistics84 (1): 116.
94.
RugglesS.FloodS.SobekM.BackmanD.ChenA.CooperG.RichardsS.RodgersR.SchouweilerM.. 2024. IPUMS USA: Version 15.0 [Dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS.
95.
SaxenianA. L.1999. Silicon Valley's New Immigrant Entrepreneurs. San Francisco: Public Policy Institute of California.
96.
SaxenianA. L., 2002. Brain Circulation: How High-Skill Immigration Makes Everyone Better Off. Washington DC: The Brookings Institution Press.
97.
SaxenianA. L., 2006. The New Argonauts. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
98.
ScellatoG.FranzoniC.StephanP.. 2015. “Migrant Scientists and International Networks.” Research Policy44 (1): 108–20.
99.
ShaheerN. A.LiS.. 2020. “The CAGE Around Cyberspace? How Digital Innovations Internationalize in a Virtual World.” Journal of Business Venturing35 (1): 105892.
100.
ShuklaP.2016. “Migrants, institutional change and the geography of foreign direct investment.” Thesis (Ph.D.), Rutgers University.
101.
ShuklaP.CantwellJ.. 2018. “Migrants and Multinational Firms: The Role of Institutional Affinity and Connectedness in FDI.” Journal of World Business53 (6): 835–49.
102.
ShuklaP.CantwellJ.. 2023. “Skilled Migrants: Stimulating Knowledge Creation and Flows in Firms.” In The Palgrave Handbook of Global Migration in International Business, edited by MockaitisAudra I., 355–84. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
103.
SinkovicsN.ReuberR. A.. 2021. “Beyond Disciplinary Silos: A Systematic Analysis of the Migrant Entrepreneurship Literature.” Journal of World Business56 (4): 1–21.
104.
SkeldonR. 2018. “High-Skilled Migration and the Limits of Migration Policies.” In High-Skilled Migration: Drivers and Policies, edited by CzaikaMathias, 48–64. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
105.
StallkampM.SchotterA. P. J.. 2021. “Platforms Without Borders? The International Strategies of Digital Platform Firms.” Global Strategy Journal11 (1): 58–80.
106.
SuhJ.RohJ.. 2023. “The Effects of Digital Trade Policies on Digital Trade.” World Economy46 (8): 2383–407. https://doi.org/10.1111/twec.13407.
107.
TadesseB.WhiteR.. 2016. “Do Immigrants Affect the Profile of US Exporters?” Applied Economics48 (19): 1743–58.
108.
TillyC.1990. “Transplanted Networks.” In Immigration Reconsidered: History, Sociology, and Politics, edited by Yans-McLaughlinVirginia, 79–95. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
109.
TongS. Y.2005. “Ethnic Networks in FDI and the Impact of Institutional Development.” Review of Development Economics9 (4): 563–80.
110.
TungR. L.2008. “Brain Circulation, Diaspora, and International Competitiveness.” European Management Journal26 (5): 298–304.
111.
UsecheD.MiguelezE.LissoniF.. 2020. “Highly Skilled and Well Connected: Migrant Inventors in Cross-Border M&As.” Journal of International Business Studies51 (5): 737–63.
112.
VertovecS.2003. “Migration and Other Modes of Transnationalism: Towards Conceptual Cross-Fertilization.” International Migration Review37 (3): 641–65.
113.
WhiteR.2007. “An Examination of the Danish Immigrant-Trade Link.” International Migration45: 61.
114.
WhiteR., 2010. Migration and International Trade : The US Experience Since 1945. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
115.
WhiteR.TadesseB.. 2011. International Migration and Economic Integration: Understanding the Immigrant-Trade Link. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.
116.
WTO. 2018. “The Economics of How Digital Technologies Impact Trade.” In World Trade Report 2018: WTO.
117.
YinZ. H.ChoiC. H.. 2024. “How Does Digitalization Affect Trade in Goods and Services? Evidence from G20 Countries.” Journal of Knowledge Economy16 (1): 3614–38.
118.
ZaheerS.LaminA.SubramaniM.. 2009. “Cluster Capabilities or Ethnic Ties? Location Choice by Foreign and Domestic Entrants in the Services Offshoring Industry in India.” Journal of International Business Studies40 (6): 944–68.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
