CSR multinational differenciation

CSR is the application of sustainable development principles at the enterprise level. In other words,

it is the voluntary integration of social, environmental and economic concerns into its activities, its

organization and its relations with all its stakeholders.

This social commitment can then be translated into various actions, such as technology transfer,

education and health support, or a local purchasing program. However, it intuitively implies a

similar or equitable treatment of the territories. But, are multinationals taking the same steps in

favour of all the territories where they are located, or are they differentiating their actions because

of certain factors?

Thus, the objective of this article is to understand the societal behavior of the multinational

companies towards their setting-up territories, by analyzing the societal practices and their

determiners. From an empirical study on the practices of a sample of French multinationals, this

article highlights a behavior of arbitration in the choice of the societal actions according to

territories. This search contributes to clarify the social responsibility of the multinational company

towards its territories by highlighting a concentration of its actions in favour of a reduced number of

territories.

Generally, studies conducted on the issue of CSR by multinationals focus on an approach to

communities, whereas this article examines the issue from a different perspective, which is the

approach based on the territory in which it is located.

The first part of the paper presents the conceptual framework of this research and the

methodological approach followed. Based on a literature review on CSR and CSR in an

international context, the author develops an analysis grid of societal practices, and the second part

focuses on the results of the empirical study.

The RSE at the international level appears under several forms, indeed, the multinational company

arbitrates between four types of strategies regarding CSR. First, a strategy of global CSR consisting

in defining universal ethical principles over which the company ensures compliance regardeless the

context where it operates; secondly, a strategy of multinational, multi-domestic or local CSR,

consisting of a strategy of CSR adapted to the local context; then a strategy of international CSR

means implementing in host countries the strategy of CSR defined in the country of origin (and not

universal standards, defined in a world frame); and finally a strategy of transnational CSR meaning

reconciling integration and adaptation by standardizing some fields and adapting others.

Based on four approaches (territorial regulation, control of land impacts, territorial cooperation and

sustainable territorial development), that classify the actions and strategies of multinationals

according to the territories of implantation, the study shows that MNC's arbitrate in the choice of

societal practices towards to their different settlement territories, according to a combination of

factors like the activity characteristics, implantation characteristics, managerial factors... And

highlight a major concentration of societal action in favour of some territories, so that the MNC can

exploit regulatory differences from one territory to another, but it may also have an interest in

...