Business model transformation in the contextof geo-economic fragmentation: a differentiatedlandscape of competitive positions

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to investigate the patterns of business model transformation in international business under the influence of geoeconomic fragmentation and to substantiate theconcept of a differentiated competitive landscape as an analytical framework for assessing corporateadaptation strategies in a reconfigured global economic environment. The prevailing narrative thatequates geoeconomic fragmentation with deglobalization is conceptually misleading. An empiricalanalysis of bilateral trade flows across 187 countries over 2015—2023 demonstrates that globaltrade volumes grew rather than contracted during this period, including in the United States, China,and the European Union. Fragmentation reconfigures the architecture of globalization by redirecting trade and investment flows rather than reducing their aggregate scale. This distinction carries directstrategic implications: the optimal corporate response to fragmentation is not full regionalization ofvalue chains but the preservation of institutional flexibility across competing geopolitical blocs.