Global considerations in corporate social responsibility: case studies of three MNCs

Abstract: It has become a trend among companies to actively work with corporate social
responsibility issues since consumers and other stakeholders are supporting
those companies who take their responsibility. The rather long history of
corporate social responsibility that to some extent goes back to the 18th
century together with today’s globalization, the growing corporate social
responsibility trend, and the limited research within this area makes this
study an important piece of the puzzle to understand corporate social
responsibility in the 21st century. The purpose of this thesis was to gain a
deeper understanding of the influence of global considerations on
multinational companies’ corporate social responsibility. In order to reach
this objective, research questions focusing on the content of multinational
companies’ corporate social responsibility and the factors influencing
multinational companies’ corporate social responsibility in foreign markets
were developed. To be able to answer the stated research questions, three
case studies of multinational companies were conducted. The collected data
was analyzed through both within-case and cross-case analysis. The findings
of this study show that global considerations are something that companies
need to pay attention to. When multinational companies implement their
corporate social responsibility in foreign markets, they are influenced by a
number of factors. As a result of this it is difficult for them to work with
corporate social responsibility completely standardized throughout the world.
Depending on the country of operations it might be necessary to adapt the
global corporate social responsibility to local/national factors. These
factors mainly influence the corporate social responsibility
locally/nationally and not globally. Factors that companies need to take into
consideration in foreign markets are: outside influences, origins or
ecological factors, norms, and global extensive guidelines.