Balancing opportunities and challenges of the New Era of Globalization with Social Inclusion and Sustainability Goals for All Stakeholders.

The new era of globalization, propelled by the rapid technological advancements and widespread concern for sustainable development goals, seems to be headed for a bright and promising future, driven by an unprecedented groundbreaking potential. It’s a very exciting moment for dynamic, highly competitive and innovative firms and startups to engage these days in international business, thanks to a vibrant and highly interconnected global business environment, eagerly driven knowledge-sharing communities, and ease of access to smart and seamless enabling technologies. Yet, globalization is currently facing also very serious challenges whose root causes seem to be deep and complex and if they are not fully understood and properly addressed by political leaders and multilateral institutions, they may potentially threaten to derail the existing world order. This article aims to provide a broad overview of the major opportunities and challenges of the new era of globalization and to stimulate reflections, debates, and possible new visions and strategic directions in order to create a more sustainable, socially inclusive, competitive, innovation-driven, and prosperous future for all stakeholders in the global market.