The Long-Term Sustenance of Sustainability Practices in MNCs: A Dynamic Capabilities Perspective of the Role of R&D and Internationalization

Journal of Business Ethics, 110 (2): 205-217, 2012

14 Pages Posted: 27 May 2012 Last revised: 10 May 2013

See all articles by Subrata Chakrabarty

Subrata Chakrabarty

Texas A&M University - Department of Management

Liang (Lucas) Wang

University of Western Ontario

Date Written: 2012

Abstract

What allows MNCs to maintain their sustainability practices over the long term? This is an important but under-examined question. To address this question, we investigate both the development and sustenance of sustainability practices. We use the dynamic capabilities perspective, rooted in resource-based view literature, as the theoretical basis. We argue that MNCs that simultaneously pursue both higher R&D intensity and higher internationalization are more capable of developing and maintaining sustainability practices. We test our hypotheses using longitudinal panel data from 1989 to 2009. Results suggest that MNCs that have a combination of both high R&D intensity and high internationalization are (i) likely to develop more sustainability practices and (ii) are likely to maintain more of those practices over a long term. As a corollary, MNCs that have a combination of both low R&D and low internationalization usually (i) end up developing little or no sustainability practices and (ii) find it difficult to sustain whatever little sustainability practices they might have developed.

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability Practices, R&D, Innovation, Multinational, Internationalization, Dynamic Capabilities, Resource Based View

JEL Classification: A13, M14, K32, N5, Q2, Q32, Q31, F2, F3, O19, O34, L1

Suggested Citation

Chakrabarty, Subrata and Wang, Liang (Lucas), The Long-Term Sustenance of Sustainability Practices in MNCs: A Dynamic Capabilities Perspective of the Role of R&D and Internationalization (2012). Journal of Business Ethics, 110 (2): 205-217, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2067248

Subrata Chakrabarty (Contact Author)

Texas A&M University - Department of Management

College Station, TX 77843
United States

HOME PAGE: http://chakrabarty.com

Liang (Lucas) Wang

University of Western Ontario ( email )

1151 Richmond Street
Suite 2
London, Ontario N6A 5B8
Canada

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