The Multinational Perspective on Responsible Management

Abstract

Responsible MNE-managers encounter intricate challenges in taking up international responsibility and developing cross-border business cases for sustainability. The intention-realization gap they face strongly hinges on the earlier adoption of specific business models and prevalent responsibility approaches. Responsible MNE-managers find themselves confronted with a number of vital and decisive trade-offs that essentially boil down to an effective management of various distance variables related to (a) the portfolio of home and host countries in which their company operates, and (b) the stakeholders to engage with in following transition stages to more effective and material corporate responsibility. Embracing international initiatives can help to overcome a number of these trade-offs and turn sustainability risks into opportunities.

Keywords: risk-responsibility trade-offs, managing distance, internationalization strategies, internalization of markets and norms