Reputation of multinational companies: Corporate social responsibility and internationalization

Autor: Javier Aguilera-Caracuel, Jaime Guerrero-Villegas, Encarnación García-Sánchez
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Zdroj: European Journal of Management and Business Economics, Vol 26, Iss 3, Pp 329-346 (2017)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2444-8451
2444-8494
DOI: 10.1108/EJMBE-10-2017-019
Popis: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to use stakeholder theory as the theoretical reference framework to study the influence of internationalization (geographic international diversification) and social performance on multinational companies’ (MNCs) reputation. Design/methodology/approach - The authors confirm the research hypotheses using a sample of 113 US MNCs in the chemical, energy and industrial machinery sectors during the period 2005-2010. Findings - This study contributes to the literature in three ways. First, it incorporates literature on internationalization to study the possible connection between geographic international diversification and social performance in MNCs. Second, it sheds light on the debate between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the reputation of MNCs in a very diverse transnational context in which MNCs must meet the needs of stakeholders at both local and global levels. Third, it incorporates the mediating role of social performance in the relationship between geographic international diversification and the firm’s reputation. Originality/value - Prior studies have hardly analyzed this relationship, which becomes especially relevant for MNCs, since their implementation of advanced CSR practices in the different markets in which they operate will gain them a good reputation, not only in specific local contexts but also globally, benefitting the organization as a whole and enabling it to gain internal consistency (improvement in internal efficiency), transparency and legitimacy.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals