Political corporate social responsibility in authoritarian contexts

Abstract

Political CSR emphasizes the need for the democratic governance of business conduct through public deliberation, and expects multinational enterprises (MNEs) to contribute to self-regulation and public goods provision to fill the gaps left by unwilling or unable governments. In the under-researched context of autocracies, however, political pluralism and participation are severely limited, which confronts MNEs with limited governance spaces for such activities. In this article, I deconstruct the assumptions on political–institutional context prevalent in political CSR and IB research on political and CSR activities of MNEs. Drawing on political science literature on state power and authoritarianism, I reconstruct political CSR in the political–institutional context of authoritarianism, using different autocracies across the globe as illustrative examples. I elucidate the boundaries and room for responsible business policies in autocracies drawing on a framework I developed that distinguishes between high- and low-capacity autocracies. My framework implies that MNEs face constraints in autocracies with regard to public deliberation and self-regulation, while there is considerable room for public goods provision. Finally, I explain why the normative desirability for the former two is high, whereas the normative desirability of public goods provision through MNEs in authoritarian contexts is lower given its implications for stabilization of autocratic rule.