Multinational enterprises and the Sustainable Development Goals: What do we know and how to proceed?

Abstract

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) can play an important role in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This article examines what we know about their participation in implementing the SDGs and their impact, both positive and negative, on people, the planet, prosperity and peace as identified in the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda. To this end, we review the research published in the main international business journals on five key SDGs that represent these "four Ps", grouped into three categories: (1) poverty and inequality, (2) energy and climate change, and (3) peace. We summarize the findings of the 61 relevant studies and subsequently explore the UN's "fifth P", partnership, both in terms of published research on MNEs and the SDGs, and in terms of a collaborative agenda to help address the large challenges of the 2030 Agenda. In view of the relatively limited research on MNEs and SDGs thus far, academic institutions and international business scholars in particular are well-positioned to offer important insights about the role of business in supporting the SDGs, for which we offer suggestions, also in relation with other key actors.

Multinational enterprises and the Sustainable Development Goals: An institutional approach to corporate engagement

“…Nevertheless, the cross-sector partnering literature -from a policy as well as a company perspective -is still in its infancy (Kolk et al, 2017). Most of the research is hampered by the fact that partnerships are only a recent phenomenon, while their effectiveness is difficult to measure -certainly when they claim to have an impact on the achievement of complex goals like the SDGs.…”

“…The SDGs aim to simultaneously advance a diverse range of sustainable development themes with universal coverage (Figure 1). Notwithstanding criticism for either being too ambitious (Copenhagen Consensus, 2016) or not being ambitious enough, especially concerning the modalities of their execution (Pogge & Sengupta, 2015), the SDGs are likely to constitute the most important frame of the global development agenda until 2030 (Kolk, 2016;Kolk, Kourula, & Pisani, 2017;Pattberg & Widerberg, 2016;Sachs, 2014).…”

“…Kolk et al, 2017;Kolk, Rivera-Santos & Rufín, 2018), far fewer research efforts have examined the actual actions of individual firms in sustainable development (e.g. Kolk, 2016;Kolk et al, 2017; van Tulder, Verbeke, & Strange, 2014), understood as meeting the environmental, social, and economic needs of current and future generations (WCED, 1987).…”

Managing interrelated tensions in headquarters–subsidiary relationships: The case of a multinational hybrid organization

“…First, we provide evidence on how a MHO's ability to achieve local responsiveness and global integration is, in part, shaped by how it addresses social and commercial logics. We assume that multinational hybrids will become an increasingly relevant phenomenon, as several other studies in IB have recently emphasized the MNCs' social role (Kolk, Kourula, & Pisani, 2017;Narula & Pineli, 2019;Wettstein, Giuliani, Santangelo, & Stahl, 2019). However, one could, for example, also imagine academic-commercial (Ambos, Mäkelä, Birkinshaw, & D'Este, 2008) or public-private tensions (Quélin, Kivleniece, & Lazzarini, 2017) to interact with subsidiaries' ability to achieve local responsiveness and global integration.…”

Making the most of FDI for development: “New” industrial policy and FDI deepening for industrial upgrading

“…FDI can play a role in sustainable economic development, poverty reduction and industrial upgrading in lower income countries (Kolk et al, 2017) . However, the attraction of a high volume of FDI is not a sufficient condition for FDI to contribute to these objectives.…”