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Drivers of Global CSR Integration and Local CSR Responsiveness: Evidence from Chinese MNEs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2016

Christof Miska ,
Michael A. Witt  and
Günter K. Stahl
Christof Miska
Affiliation:
WU Vienna University of Economics and Business
Michael A. Witt
Affiliation:
INSEAD
Günter K. Stahl
Affiliation:
WU Vienna University of Economics and Business
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Abstract:

What drives Chinese MNEs’ global CSR integration and local CSR responsiveness? Drawing on institutional theory, we argue that both antecedents reflecting globally isomorphic patterns of adaptation and antecedents mirroring the distinct characteristics of China’s institutional context are relevant. We support our argument using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis on a sample of 29 of China’s globally most influential companies. We find that state influence and global CSR associations affect global CSR integration, whereas presence in the West and internationalization through mergers and acquisitions predict local CSR responsiveness. Our study thus suggests that home-country characteristics are an important co-determinant of the CSR approaches of emerging-market MNEs. We further find that multicultural experience in top management teams is associated with both global CSR integration and local CSR responsiveness, supporting notions of transnational CSR.

Keywords

Chinaemerging-market MNEsglobal CSR integrationinstitutional theorylocal CSR responsivenessstate-owned enterprises
Type
Special Section
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , July 2016 , pp. 317 - 345
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2016 

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