| As corporate social responsibility (CSR) becomes more relevant, the activities of transnational corporations, sometimes referred to as multinational corporations (MNCs), in host countries have received considerable attention in recent years. Due to global economic integration, liberalisation and technological advancements, a large number of transnational companies (TNCs) usually based in Europe and the USA have extended their activities across national borders. Many others also continue to add on subsidiaries overseas or in other operating countries in search of new markets, especially targeting less developed and emerging economies. Over the past several decades, some major TNCs have received a lot of flak following allegations of sweatshops, forced labour, human rights abuses, low wages, and other poor working conditions in host states. A well-known example is the Nestle baby milk scandal in the 1970s, which caused many infant health problems and deaths leading to the famous publication ‘the baby killer’ by the London-based organisation ‘War on Want’ in 1974. There was also public outrage in the 1990s following Nike’s alleged abusive labour practices in factories overseas including Indonesia, Bangladesh and China. In 2013, union activists championed ‘the Killer Coke campaign’ against the Coca-Cola Company due to its alleged human rights and environmental abuses in Columbia. For a long time, Shell has received a lot of backlash because of the adverse effects of its oil exploration and production processes in Nigeria. Other similar cases include Walmart and employee rights violations in countries like China and Nicaragua, the alleged exploitation of workers by Adidas and the recent United Airlines overbooking controversy and its resulting repercussions. On top of these, just about any TNC caught up in a biggest scandal turns out to be a key player in CSR (e.g. BP plc., Enron). For years, Volkswagen (VW) was presented as a global leader in social and environmental issues (has been part of Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJS1) global ranking for 13 years, 1999۲۰۰۴ and 2007۲۰۱۵) only for its emissions cheating test to be uncovered and disclosed recently. Evidently, the company not only failed in its responsibilities towards stakeholders, but was also ‘willing to don a green image for mere symbolic sake, without backing it up with the necessary strategic and operational change which will give it substance’ (Matejek & Gossling, 2014, p. 573). Undoubtedly, the numerous unethical corporate behaviours (e.g. Nike, Nestle) prompting various movements to stamp out such wrong doings or injustices affirm that stakeholders are increasingly becoming much more assertive and highly critical of companies. The 2017 Edelman global survey (of about 33,000 respondents in 28 countries) suggests a general trust crisis that negatively influences stakeholder perceptions and behaviours (Edelman, 2017). Within this context, research has also confirmed that this generation of global consumers hold companies accountable and is more likely to reward or punish them in various forms for their responsible or irresponsible acts (Cone Communications, 2015). |
