The Dilemmas of Internationalization: Corporate Social Responsibility in the Multinational Corporation
| Date | 01 January 2014 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2012.00840.x |
| Published date | 01 January 2014 |
The Dilemmas of Internationalization:
Corporate Social Responsibility in
the Multinational Corporation
Krista Bondy and Ken Starkey1
Centre for Business, Organisations and Society, University of Bath, Bath, UK, and
1Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
Email: kb310@management.bath.ac.uk; Kenneth.starkey@nottingham.ac.uk
We add to the global–local debate by highlighting concerns with the empirical and
conceptual validity of the construct ‘integrated’ as it operates within corporate social
responsibility (CSR). We do so by investigating the extent to which foreign national
culture and related local issues are incorporated into the CSR policy of 37 multinational
corporations, examining strategy development and implementation across global loca-
tions. This research suggests that integrated internationalization strategies do not
resolve global and local CSR issues. In fact, they reinforce outcomes similar to global
strategies, where core issues identified by headquarters are legitimated and local issues
are marginalized, an outcome that appears somewhat at odds with the spirit of local
responsiveness embedded in CSR thinking.
Introduction
When it comes to international management (IM)
strategies, is it better to focus on global standardi-
zation across operating units or to respond to
local market drivers? According to the IM
literature, the answer is neither. A mix of both
is required to best exploit opportunities for
improved competitive advantage. Promoted as
the ideal, an integrated internationalization strat-
egy helps generate both efficiencies through
product and process innovations and responsive-
ness to particular needs, wants and conditions in
local markets (e.g. Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1998;
Begley and Boyd, 2003; Belanger et al., 1999).
What then happens when we narrow our focus
to corporate social responsibility (CSR)? The
answer is unknown as very few studies have inves-
tigated the impact of internationalization strate-
gies on CSR activity. This paucity of research is
interesting given the importance of the global–
local debate in much of the CSR literature
(Matten and Moon, 2008; Waddock and Bodwell,
2007; Williams, 2001) and the observation that
companies believe using integrated internationali-
zation strategies is a desirable practice. For some,
such as HSBC, an integrated strategy is so influ-
ential that they continue to advertise themselves
as ‘the world’s local bank’. The rhetoric associ-
ated with ‘being local worldwide’ (Belanger et al.,
1999) has also been increasingly used in different
forms of CSR communications, indicating com-
panies believe that integrated strategies are
important for their CSR activities.
Since types of internationalization strategies are
differentiated largely on the extent to which global
or local influences are strongest (Bartlett and
Ghoshal, 1998), our research investigates the type
of internationalization strategies used by MNCs
through an investigation of the global–local influ-
ence in policy development and implementation.
Two research questions were developed:
1. To what extent does the development of mul-
tinational corporations’ (MNCs’) CSR policies
reflect home or host country perspectives?
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British Journal of Management, Vol. 25, 4–22 (2014)
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8551.2012.00840.x
© 2012 The Author(s)
British Journal of Management © 2012 British Academy of Management. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd,
9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA, 02148, USA.
2. To what extent does the implementation of
MNCs’ CSR policies reflect home or host
country perspectives?
Building on the work of Husted and Allen
(2006), we critically examine the development and
implementation of CSR policy within 37 MNCs.
We investigate how local issues are incorporated
into the CSR activity of MNCs, thus contributing
to the CSR literature by identifying how MNCs
use their knowledge of internationalization strat-
egies within CSR.
CSR is a useful research area for IM
(Rodriguez et al., 2006) because it requires bal-
ancing different cultural and ethical demands,
raising important issues about what can be con-
sidered universal and what needs adaptation to
local circumstances. Given that not much consid-
eration has been given to these issues in relation to
CSR (Muller, 2006) and that it may represent
other knowledge based activities, its uniqueness
provides a rich arena in which to investigate the
relationship and implications of internationaliza-
tion strategies. Thus, our first contribution iden-
tifies the use of internationalization strategies
within CSR. Our second contribution is to ques-
tion the conceptual and empirical validity of inte-
grated internationalization strategies within the
IM literature (e.g. Harzing, 2000). We do so by
demonstrating how creating integrated CSR
strategies perpetuates a global approach and not
an integration of global and local interests.
Integrated internationalization
strategies
MNCs1face unique opportunities and challenges
resulting from operating across national borders,
where they are embedded in different contexts
with different structures and relational networks
(Ghoshal and Bartlett, 1990; Harzing, 2000).
These conditions have been much debated within
the IM literature, which discusses both the ten-
sions (e.g. Bird and Stevens, 2003; Braithwaite
and Drahos, 2000) and the integration between
global and local issues (e.g. Bartlett and Ghoshal,
1998; Robertson, 1995; Skinner, 1964). The litera-
ture on integrated, or transnational internation-
alization strategies, identifies two distinct but
overlapping conceptualizations: efficiency respon-
siveness and interpenetration. The first and most
common type, efficiency responsiveness, suggests
that organizational efficiencies can be generated
and opportunities exploited through standardiza-
tion. These efficiencies can then be tailored to the
tastes and regulations of local markets, respond-
ing to the needs of the market and creating oppor-
tunities for expansion within it (e.g. Begley and
Boyd, 2003; Immelt, Govindarajan and Trimble,
2009; Svensson, 2001). In other words, companies
both standardize where possible across all operat-
ing units and adapt these standards where needed
to ensure responsiveness to local needs.
The second and less common type, interpen-
etration, suggests that blending of global and
local interests is more than operational efficiencies
achieved through a balance of global standardi-
zation and local flexibility. Within this perspec-
tive, global and local interests are combined and
transformed into a unique form of operating that
‘continually renews itself by balancing the organi-
zational tensions and management paradoxes
implicit’ in international business (Bartlett and
Ghoshal, 1998, p. 257; Ritzer, 2003), or, in other
words, an interpenetration of the global and local.
Considered the most successful and thus ideal
strategy for MNCs (e.g. Bartlett and Ghoshal,
1998), an integrated strategy is realized in a
number of ways. These include operating as an
interdependent network of relevant organiza-
tional members, good communications, team-
based decision making, and negotiation to resolve
political, process and structural tensions (Bartlett
and Ghoshal, 1992; Begley and Boyd, 2003;
Harzing, 2000; Rugman and Verbeke, 2008).
While present in the CSR literature, integrated
strategies to manage CSR activity are much less
common than research focused on local (national)
or global strategies. The next section will discuss
these three strategies in turn, following a brief
introduction to CSR.
Internationalization strategies
within CSR
CSR can be understood as how firms integrate
social, environmental and economic concerns
1Whilst it is recognized that there are many different
categories of companies operating across national and
regional boundaries (see Harzing (2000) for an over-
view), the term MNC will be used in this paper to refer to
all types to ease discussion.
The Dilemmas of Internationalization 5
© 2012 The Author(s)
British Journal of Management © 2012 British Academy of Management.
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