Going the Extra Mile While Internationalizing: A Systematic Literature Review About the Role of CSR Commitment

Abstract

Current understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR) overlooks the impact of internationalization on CSR practices, as it focuses on specific countries. Hence, this paper systematically reviews the literature to analyze how firms, while internationalizing, find themselves in the need to act upon their CSR practices and implementation, thus going the extra mile. Through an in-depth content analysis of 53 articles, four thematic groups were identified: (1) CSR performance: Institutional differences between home country and host country; (2) CSR Reporting and Emerging Market Multinational Enterprises' (EM-MNEs) Internationalization; (3) Is CSR an antecedent or outcome of firms' internationalization in EM-MNEs?; (4) The portrait of CSR in the internationalization of developed country firms. The review highlights factors such as environmental regulations, leadership, and gaining legitimacy in host countries as drivers of stronger CSR during internationalization. However, a key challenge is balancing standardization and adaptation of CSR practices across borders. The paper proposes an integrative framework to guide firms in navigating the complex relationship between CSR and internationalization. Finally, future research avenues may include the study of conflicting stakeholder demands and legitimacy pressures, as well as how CSR efforts can overcome reputational biases.