An Enquiry into MNEs' CSR Practices: Literature Assessment, Managerial Implications, and Academic Perspectives. (RESEARCH ARTICLE) (multinational enterprises, corporate social responsibility)

1 Introduction

The involvement of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in various societal issues (e.g., natural environment, working conditions, ethical conduct) in different parts of the world has received attention by international business (IB) academics and practitioners alike during the last few decades (Park & Xiao, 2021). This can be attributed to an oxymoron situation characterizing MNEs: while these firms have been repeatedly accused of causing most of the problems societies face today due to acting in an irresponsible way (which in some cases is intentionally hidden through the adoption of various 'social-washing' practices) (Kotchen & Moon, 2012; Riera & Iborra, 2017), their large scale of operations and extensive geographic scope, coupled with the possession of sizeable financial, human, and technological resources, allows them to play a key role in reducing the negative impact of these problems through engaging in CSR practices. We analyze MNEs' CSR as defined by Rodriguez-Gomez et al., (2020, p. 4). Although there are diverse definitions of CSR (for an overview of the history of CSR see Caroll, 2008), the term reflects the broad understanding of how companies voluntarily engage in creating economic, social, and environmental value to satisfy stakeholder demands (Chowdhury et al., 2019; Sun et al., 2021; Tarnovskaya et al., 2022). Thus, we refer to MNEs' CSR activities in its broader understanding, reflecting the linkages between economic performance, shared values and business ethics, social issues, and environmental protection (Rodriguez-Gomez et al., 2020).

The dual role of MNEs, that is, to be responsible for some of these CSR crucial problems societies face, while at the same time being among the most powerful in providing solutions to them through CSR, has attracted a large volume of studies aiming to understand the various motivations, obstacles, strategies, and outcomes of their socially, environmentally and ethically responsible (or irresponsible) conduct when operating in international markets (Jamali et al., 2017; Pisani et al., 2017). Although the first signs of MNEs' involvement in CSR activities can be traced a long time ago, it was only in the mid-1990s that the first academic articles were published on the subject. Since then, there has been an exponential growth of research focusing on the CSR practices of MNEs, reflecting the heightened importance gained by this topic among the international business academic community. However, this body of knowledge is very dynamic and hence, requiring an up-to-date critical review of MNEs' CSR practices to facilitate theory advancement and further practice development (Sun et al., 2021).

Several attempts have been made in the past to review the literature focusing on the CSR activities of MNEs, with most prominent being those by Egri and Ralston (2008), Kolk and van Tulder (2010), Jamali and Karam (2016), and Sun et al. (2021) (see Appendix A for their method used, focus, and key findings). Egri and Ralston (2008) have provided a bibliographical categorization of CSR publications in mainstream international management journals, focusing on their geographic scope and thematic emphasis grouped in four key areas, namely, corporate social responsibility, environmental responsibility, ethics, and governance. The authors conclude that CSR issues were under-represented in the international management literature (p. 325) and extend context-specific knowledge on: environmental management systems and business performance (Darnall et al., 2008); the motivations for corporate social and environmental responsibility of a Scandinavian MNE (Lynes & Andrachuk, 2008); social information within the intellectual capital report (Castilla Polo & Gallardo Vazquez, 2008); and provide an understanding on local legitimacy by MNEs in a specific industry context in Peru (Gifford & Kestler, 2008). Kolk and van Tulder (2010) have reviewed publications on MNE's CSR and sustainability concluding that there is an unbalanced geographical distribution of empirical research, whereas the-matically 'CSR and ethics' and 'CSR and sustainable development' are seen as most important and upcoming themes in international business research. Notwithstanding, the authors point to limited availability of data on MNE's CSR and sustainability, and a pronounced location focus, which often accounts for the use of contextually embedded case studies emphasizing the role of institutions, industry dynamics, and consumer choice of products in relation to their attitude to CSR and type of market. The study used publications from four of the most prominent international business journals. Jamali and Karam's (2016) review has contextualized MNEs' CSR in activities performed in developing countries synthesizing extant research into five key themes, namely, institutional antecedents in the national business system, macro-level antecedents outside the national business system, multiplicity of actors involved in formal and informal governance, nuanced forms of CSR expressions, and varied scope of detrimental CSR consequences related to the level of development. The final review study by Sun et al. (2021) explores the theories, contexts, methods, and themes of studies focusing on MNEs' nonmarket strategy in cross-border institutional complexity, suggesting a framework of themes and sub-themes reflecting institutional complexity in relation to MNEs' corporate political activity, MNEs' strategic CSR, and the intersection of these themes. Based on the analysis and synthesis in this review, the authors suggest the adoption of a micro foundational perspective with four future research thrusts and identify key research questions, theoretical lenses, and possible methodologies. Nevertheless, the study leaves space for a more extensive and systematized approach to exploring MNE's CSR practices, as well as for understanding what MNEs' CSR managers think about research generated managerial implications, and how CSR researchers view future key research areas with a focus on CSR.

Despite valuable insights gained from these review efforts, some of them are outdated, others paid attention to few aspects of MNEs' CSR activities in specific contexts, while still others examined CSR in conjunction with other strategic behaviors of MNEs. There has also been limited attempt to examine evolutionary changes in this line of research over time to be able to establish trends. Moreover, only some of these reviews have explored aspects relating to the theories used and methodologies employed by the empirical research. Furthermore, practical implications derived from the studies reviewed have either neglected or partially addressed synthesizing managerial insights. Finally, although most of these reviews provided useful guidelines for future research, these are somewhat out of date considering the dynamic nature of the CSR phenomenon in a rapidly transforming world.

This article aims to fill these needs in the literature and extend our understanding of MNEs' CSR practices. It provides an updated, in-depth, and extensive coverage of various issues related to the CSR practices of MNEs, identifies trends in the evolution of this line of research, and derives insights from both practitioners and academics specializing in this field. Specifically, we have three major goals to accomplish: (a) to review, evaluate, and establish trends on the theoretical, methodological, and thematic aspects of extant empirical research on MNEs' CSR activities from 1997 up to 2022; (b) to assimilate key managerial implications derived from the empirical studies reviewed, as well as evaluate their importance by MNE managers; and (c) to obtain the views of IB academics regarding recommended directions for future research on the subject.

We contribute to the IB and CSR literature in three major ways. First, we provide a rich inventory of knowledge on the MNE's CSR practices as integrated in their core strategy. By evaluating this body of research on theoretical, methodological, and thematic grounds, we offer useful insights to IB researchers to better design their studies and identify gaps that need to be filled. We also provide IB educators with a consolidated knowledge of the MNEs' CSR practices, that will help to enrich their teaching material with useful information. Additionally, we offer a chronological evolution of extant empirical research on issues relating to MNEs and their CSR over a 25-year period, which helps to establish trends and identify areas of future improvement. Tracking such evolutionary directions of knowledge will serve as a solid platform that will advance theory and practice on the subject.

Second, we propose a set of managerial implications extracted from the empirical studies included in our review, which are evaluated in terms of their importance by the managers of MNEs from different countries and augmented with additional input provided by them. This will help IB practitioners to acquire useful insights for identifying, understanding, and effectively handling various societal issues across different foreign markets, as well as crafting sound CSR strategies on a global scale. At the same time, they can recognize diverse factors that might inhibit or drive the whole CSR strategy process, from development to implementation, and its impact on financial and non-financial performance outcomes. Public policymakers in both home and host countries will also gain insights of how to better meet the needs of various stakeholder groups regarding societal issues, as well as collaborate with MNEs to formulate appropriate policies and programs.

Third, we suggest useful guidelines about future areas of research regarding the involvement of MNEs in CSR activities, which are derived from a survey among IB academics specializing on the subject. Their views, ideas, and suggestions as to how this field should progress, coupled with priorities that need...