CSR and sustainability in emerging markets: Societal, institutional, and organizational influences

This paper examines how a newly established multinational enterprise (MNE) leverages nonmarket strategy (NMS) to deal with legitimacy problems posed by institutional voids in institutionally challenging contexts to gain legitimacy. Using a rich dataset from in-depth interviews, observations, and archival data on Jumia, an African e-commerce giant, we identify three types of institutional void (i.e., infrastructural, regulatory and legal, and cognitive cultural voids) that hinder the implementation of the e-commerce business model. We further unpack the MNE's specific NMS to validate, consolidate, and diffuse the new business model to gain legitimacy accordingly. Importantly, we theorize how MNEs, under various conditions of unstable institutional structures and mechanisms, employ NMS to achieve three kinds of legitimacy in the process—i.e., cognitive, regulative and normative legitimacies. Altogether, we integrate three prominent streams of literature in IB—NMS, institutional voids, and legitimacy literature—to build a theory on how MNEs deploy NMS to establish legitimacy in response to environmental uncertainty to validate their activities and consolidate trust by gaining political and regulatory support.

The current study explores the interlinkage between corporate social, environmental performance (CSP) and financial performance of a firm, mediated by its global exposure and corporate governance. We conduct a dynamic fixed effect 2SLS-IV analysis on a comprehensive multi-country data-set and find that financial performance is not significantly impacted by CSP but there is a positive influence when it is mediated by lower internationalization. We also find that a more independent board lowers such value-destroying managerial activities, while the presence of women directors on board, dampens that positive influence of low internationalisation in strengthening financial performance through higher CSP.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasingly demanded by investors worldwide. In this article, we study whether foreign firms listed on U.S. capital markets are competitive to U.S. firms in providing better CSR disclosure. We also examine whether such transparency allows foreign firms to achieve a competitive advantage relative to their U.S. counterparts. Using environmental, social, and governance disclosure scores, we find that foreign firms disclose more than comparable U.S. firms, particularly in the environmental and social dimensions of CSR. Furthermore, we find consistent evidence that foreign stocks experience lower idiosyncratic volatility, better liquidity, and higher institutional ownership relative to other comparable U.S. stocks due to a higher CSR disclosure of foreign firms.

This paper focuses on the increased pressure for corporations to engage in corporate sustainability (CS) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to address the current crisis of confidence in business, align their activities with the needs and expectations of a broader set of stakeholders, and help tackle the world's grand challenges. We argue that human resource management (HRM) has a potentially vital role to play in contributing to a firm's CS/CSR efforts, but so far has failed to deliver. We explore the reasons for this failure and discuss ways for HRM to play a more prominent role in the design and implementation of a firm's CS/CSR strategy. Building on earlier attempts to integrate corporate responsibility and sustainability into the HRM performance construct, we propose a multidimensional, multi-stakeholder approach to sustainable HRM that encompasses activities aimed both at avoiding harmful consequences for stakeholders and contributing to positive outcomes along the triple bottom line (i.e., people, planet, and prosperity). We discuss implications for research and develop a set of propositions and guidelines for future research.

Given the significant political and socio-economic transformations occurring in the challenging yet under-researched Arab world nowadays, this study seeks to (1) systematically review the literature in the leading mainstream management journals; and (2) develop a future research agenda that would enhance our understanding of the region. To do this, we conducted a systematic review of 176 published management studies (2000–2016). Our thematic analysis revealed three overarching themes. These were (1) avenues for economic development and improved performance, (2) leveraging and adapting to changing local institutional contexts and (3) overcoming legitimacy concerns/barriers in the Arab world. Our recommendations on the future research agenda of these themes were intended to provide key insights for researchers and managers interested in proactively contributing to the development of a timely research agenda for these promising markets.