Towards transnational CSR: Corporate social responsibility approaches and governance solutions for multinational corporations

The global environment in which multinational corporations (MNCs) operate dramatically increases the complexity of the governance challenges and ethical dilemmas confronting MNCs and their leaders, as well as the diversity of stakeholders whose interests must be considered. In this context, MNCs face a perennial dilemma: how to balance the need for global consistency in CSR approaches and ethical standards across the organization with the need to be sensitive to the demands and expectations of a diverse set of stakeholders spread across the globe? Building on the framework of ?transnational CSR?, we provide a systematic mapping of CSR approaches in MNCs, high?light the tensions and possible trade-offs between globally integrated and locally adapted CSR strategies, and discuss the constraints that they impose on MNC activities at both headquarters and subsidiary levels. We also highlight the impli?cations for corporate governance, stakeholder management and corporate social performance. Based on in-depth case studies of 18 MNCs, we conclude that a transnational CSR approach that attempts to strike an appropriate balance between global consistency and local adaptation seems best able to guide managerial decision making and help executives address the CSR challenges in the global arena.