Corporate Social Responsibility in International Business: Illustrations from Korean and Japanese Electronics MNEs in Indonesia

Abstract

Employing Porter and Kramer’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) framework (Harv Bus Rev 84:78–92, 2006), we explored the strategic CSR programs of two Korean and two Japanese electronics multinational enterprises (MNEs) in Indonesia. We observed that the sample MNEs engage in strategic CSR either through investment in competitive context or the transformation of value chain activities. In addition, these firms strongly favor strategic CSR over responsive CSR, not just because of the economic benefits offered by the former, but also its advantages in managing the programs and communicating with stakeholders. Furthermore, they have developed varied organizational methods and tend to manage their key CSR programs centrally to effectively link them to the competitive strategy. Lastly, the results of our analysis suggest that Korean MNEs have customized their strategic CSR programs for emerging countries more actively than Japanese MNEs. In sum, our analysis elucidates several important features of strategic CSR employed by the MNEs in emerging countries.