Purpose
This paper aims to examine the tensions between global and local corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives developed by multinationals managing subsidiaries in different emergent countries. Multinationals carry out a wide array of political activities (Boddewyn and Brewer, 1994; Hillman and Hitt, 1999; Rehbein and Schuler, 1995) supporting their economic objectives, even though the political landscape and the institutional environment may vary significantly in the different countries in which they are located (Luo, 2006). This can raise issues related to the management of cross-border political imperatives as well as the coordination of political activities among multinational companies and their subsidiaries.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a documentary research, this paper analyses the key challenges facing the non-market and CSR strategies of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) a world leading, research-based pharmaceutical and health-care company.
Findings
The paper further looks at the way in which GSK deploys its global non-market strategies and manages their alignment with local CSR initiatives in emerging markets, particularly in China.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is required to address the question of international CSR mediation and moderation of this imbalance between pressures for global consistency and local responsiveness. More specifically, in-depth case studies designed to target local managers, as well as their counterparts from the MNE headquarters, should allow us to more effectively analyse and capture the perceived biases with regard to the way the CSR agenda is set at the central level, in light of its global strategy and to the needs and demands of their local host countries’ stakeholders.
Originality/value
This exploratory research based on secondary data allows an interesting base for analysis of the synergies between CSR, non-market strategies and international strategic management which provide a promising base for continuing research.
Relying on two diverse samplings of MBA students – one from an international French business school and the other from a university based in Bahrain that recruits students from the Arabian Gulf countries – our article analyzes the relationship between the MBA students’ career goals and their nationality. Our key findings highlight that nationality has little effect on graduate students' motives for pursuing education, their perception of the expected program outcomes and their career perspectives. Other findings, however, reveal some differences based on nationality, the most significant being program criteria choices in relation to career goals and the expected skills students wished to acquire.
Résumé Si la littérature a largement traité du rôle clé des cadres intermédiaires dans l’apprentissage stratégique, celui des cadres intermédiaires, plus spécifiquement, dans l’apprentissage organisationnel n’a été que peu étudié. Cet article cherche à combler ce vide en explorant les rôles des cadres intermédiaires dans la dynamique de développement des connaissances. S’appuyant sur une étude cas, la recherche exploratoire conduite dans un cabinet de conseil fait ressortir deux principaux rôles : celui d’activiste des connaissances ainsi que celui de gestionnaire des conversations. Il ressort également que l’exercice de ces rôles est tributaire de trois éléments essentiels : l’existence d’une vision claire émanant du sommet stratégique, de fonctions de support aux cadres intermédiaires et de conditions managériales et organisationnelles.
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