Multinational Companies as Responsible Political Actors in Global Business: Challenges and Implications for Human Resource Management
In: Lyon, T. P. (Ed.), Corporate Political Responsibility, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 216-244. Chapter DOI: 10.1017/9781009420815.012
32 Pages Posted: 15 Dec 2011 Last revised: 27 Nov 2023
Date Written: January 1, 2023
Abstract
Today multinational corporations (MNCs) operate in various locations with fragmented legislation and heterogeneous social or cultural norms. Many MNCs assume a political responsibility by contributing to national and global governance, influencing their legal and moral environments, and addressing social or sustainability issues not only within their firm boundaries but also along their value chains and even beyond. Scholars have developed various frameworks, most prominently Corporate Political Activity (CPA), Corporate Citizenship (CC), Political Corporate Social Responsibility (PCSR), and most recently Corporate Political Responsibility (CPR), for analyzing these developments and theorizing the political role and responsibility of the corporation. This chapter analyzes the challenges of MNCs, advances their political responsibility, and explores the implications for theorizing about human resource management (HRM) and its contribution to the political role of the firm. We review the existing literature and argue that extant research does not yet answer adequately how HRM should support the political role of firms. Building upon PCSR, we propose HRM should be extended to include a political agenda along two functions: as a “steward” taking care for the wellbeing of the firm’s work force and as an “enabler” making organizational members competent for helping others. On that basis, we conceptualize the political dimension of HRM, explore its implications for HR practices and the political role of the MNC, and offer a perspective on how political HRM can be conceived of in the CPR approach and contribute to its development.
Keywords: Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Globalization, Human Resource Management
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation