Transforming corporate social responsibilities:Toward an intellectual activist research agenda for micro-CSR research

In their recent essay, Gond and Moser (2019) have proposed that micro-CSR research has the potential to “matter” and transform business practices as it engages closely with how individuals in companies work with and experience corporate social responsibility (CSR). But can micro-CSR research in its current form realize this transformative potential and serve social justice? Adopting an intellectual activist position, we argue that the transformative potential of micro-CSR is severely limited by its predominant focus on CSR as defined, presented, and promoted by companies themselves, thereby serving to sustain the hegemony of the business case for CSR, promoting narrow interests and maintaining managerial control over corporate responsibilities. We propose that micro-CSR researchers broaden the scope of their research to cultivate the potential of alternative ideas, voices, and activities found in organizational life. In so doing we lay out a research agenda that embraces employee activism, listens to alternative voices, and unfolds confrontational, subversive, and covert activities. In the hope of inspiring other micro-CSR researchers to explore these unconventional paths, we also offer suggestions as to how we can pursue them through empirical research

Assessing the role of host country human rights protection on multinational enterprises' choice of investment strategy

Although international business studies have examined the role of non-market factors in multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) foreign ownership, there is a limited focus on the role of host country human rights records on MNEs’ ownership decisions. Further, there is little understanding of the differences in ownership decisions between the developed country multinational enterprises (DMNEs) and emerging-market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) as influenced by the non-market context of their host countries. This study, therefore, explores the links between the host country’s human rights governance and MNEs’ ownership strategy in cross-border acquisitions. We argue that clarity in human rights governance in the host country will encourage MNEs to establish higher stakes in local targets and that this relationship will be stronger for DMNEs than for EMNEs. Our findings, which support these hypotheses, offer insights into the relationship between MNE investment strategy and human rights governance, and inform the debate on the differences between internationalization strategies of EMNEs and DMNEs

MNE post-entry institutional strategies in emerging markets: An organizational field position perspective

In this paper, we leverage the concept of organizational field, currently under-explored in international business literature, to understand how Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) from developed markets (DMs) strategically manage their institutional context in emerging markets (EMs). To develop theoretical arguments, we focus on institutional strategies and theorize how and to what extent MNEs in central, peripheral, and intermediate field positions engage with host country institutions in EMs. Using an international business perspective, organizational theory, and illustrations from EMs, we develop a dynamic view of field positions to identify how MNEs’ intermediate repositioning trajectories in between the field’s center and the periphery, driven by environmental and corporate factors, lead to the associated changes in the form and scope of institutional strategies deployed in EMs. In doing so, we offer testable propositions for future research

The transfer of employment practices across borders in multinational companies: From context to actors

This chapter addresses the issue of how multinational companies transfer expertise that was developed in one country to their operations around the world. It explores why multinationals seek to do this and the strategic roles that individuals play in the transfer process.</p

The transfer of employment practices across borders in multinational companies: From context to actors

This chapter addresses the issue of how multinational companies transfer expertise that was developed in one country to their operations around the world. It explores why multinationals seek to do this and the strategic roles that individuals play in the transfer process.</p