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Investigating firms' involvement in corporate social irresponsibility: Are family owned MNEs better corporate citizens?

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  • Federica Nieri
  • Luciano Ciravegna

Abstract

This paper aims at investigating how multiple antecedents of multinational enterprises (MNEs) involvement in Corporate Social Irresponsibility (CSIR) act in unison and create complex situations that are difficult to capture with a linear logic. To this end, we use fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and find five configurations of antecedents leading to high levels of CSIR occurrence: (1) The resource-constrained MNE - a highly internationalized MNE, operating in high corruption host markets, facing low performance volatility, with low slack resources, which does not adopt Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies; (2) The disinterested MNE – a lowly internationalized MNE, operating in low corruption host markets, facing low performance volatility, with high slack resources, which does not adopt CSR policies; (3) The calculated family MNE - a lowly internationalized family MNE, operating in high corruption host markets, facing high performance volatility, with high slack resources, which does not adopt CSR policies; (4) The resource-constrained family MNE - a lowly internationalized family MNE, operating in high corruption host markets, facing high performance volatility, with low slack resources, which adopts CSR policies; (5) The overreacting, decoupling family MNE – a lowly internationalized family MNE, operating in low corruption host markets, facing high performance volatility, with high slack resources, which adopts CSR policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Federica Nieri & Luciano Ciravegna, 2019. "Investigating firms' involvement in corporate social irresponsibility: Are family owned MNEs better corporate citizens?," Discussion Papers 2019/254, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
    • Handle: RePEc:pie:dsedps:2019/254
    Note: ISSN 2039-1854
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    File URL: https://www.ec.unipi.it/documents/Ricerca/papers/2019-254.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate Social Irresponsibility (CSIR); Family firms; Multinationals; Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); Performance volatility; Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA);
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • K40 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - General

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