DEFINE $[$using definition from Deresky $(2021)]$ and DESCRIBE the global risks that surround the global technological environment? List $3$ risks for these environments. In your discussion, provide EXAMPLES attached to the chosen risks. The global management implications of the digital age technology are pervasive$$both in how companies formulate strategy, organize their activities, and recruit global talent, just to name a few. Moreover, these companies need to integrate technology in various aspects of their business, especially as customers continue to incorporate technology into more aspects of their lives $($e$.$g$.,$ purchasing products vis$--$vis mobile phones$).$ Technology disruptions are no longer the exception, but rather the new norm. MNC leaders need to consider the magnitude and scope of these disruptions and how they affect their ability to formulate and implement strategy, as well as recruit and develop talent.

Now that we are in a global information society, it is clear that corporations must incorporate into their strategic planning and their everyday operations the accelerating macroenvironmental phenomenon of the digital economy, in which the rapid developments in information and communication technologies $($ICTs$)$ are propelling globalization and vice versa. Investment$-$led globalization is leading to global production networks, which result in global diffusion of technology to link parts of the value$-$added chain in different countries. That chain may comprise parts of the same firm, or it may comprise suppliers and customers or technology$-$partnering alliances among two or more firms. Either way, technological developments are facilitating, indeed necessitating, the firm network structure that allows flexibility and rapid response to local needs.

Clearly, the effects of technology on global trade and business transactions cannot be ignored; in addition, the Internet is propelling electronic commerce around the world. The ease of use and pervasiveness of the Internet raise difficult questions about ownership of intellectual property, consumer protection, residence location, taxation, and other issues.

New technology specific to a firm$$s products represents a key competitive advantage to firms and challenges international businesses to manage the transfer and diffusion of proprietary technology, with its attendant risks. Whether it is a product, a process, or a management technology, an MNC$$s major concern is the appropriability of technology$$that is$,$ the ability of the innovating firm to profit from its own technology by protecting it from competitors.An MNC can enjoy many technological benefits from its global operations. Advances resulting from cooperative R&D can be transferred among affiliates around the world, and specialized management knowledge can be integrated and shared. However, the risks of technology transfer and piracy are considerable and costly$.$ Although firms face few restrictions on the creation and dissemination of technology in developed countries, less$-$developed countries often impose restrictions on licensing agreements, royalties, and so forth, as well as on patent protection.

In most countries, governments use their laws to some extent to control the flow of technology. These controls may be in place for reasons of national security. Other countries in earlier stages of development use their investment laws to acquire needed technology $($usually labor$-$intensive technology to create jobs$),$ increase exports, use local technology, and train local people.

The most common methods of protecting proprietary technology are the use of patents, trademarks, trade names, copyrights, and trade secrets$.$ Various international conventions afford some protection in participating countries; more than $80$ countries adhere to the International Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property $($often referred to as the Paris Union$)$ for the protection of patents. However, restrictions and differences in the rules in some countries not signatory to the Paris Union, as well as industrial espionage, pose continuing problems for firms trying to protect their technology.

One risk to a firm$$s intellectual property is the inappropriate use of the technology by joint$-$venture partners, franchisees, licensees, and employees $($especially those who move to other companies$).$ Some countries rigorously enforce employee secrecy agreements.

Another major consideration for global managers is the need to evaluate the appropriateness of technology for the local environment$$especially in less$-$developed countries. By studying the possible cultural consequences of the transfer of technology, managers must assess whether the local people are ready and willing to change their values, expectations, and behaviors on the job to use new technological methods, whether applied to production, research, marketing, finance, or some other aspect of the business. Often, a decision regarding the level of technology transfer