Economic development that meets the needs of the global population without jeopardizing the capacity of future generations is a worldwide challenge for multinational enterprises (MNEs). They are expected to balance their role as global economic actors and environmental stewards in the environment in which they operate. Contributors from India, Europe and the United States offer new perspectives, contrasting US, European and emerging economies’ approaches to sustainability, and how they can generate roadmaps which yield innovative solutions for one of the most contentious issues of our era. Their review suggests that the differential performance across developed and emerging economies has exposed potential weaknesses. Emerging Dynamics of Sustainability in Multinational Enterprises promotes greater emphasis on experimenting with unique local and sustainable approaches to solving problems faced by firms in, or from, emerging economies. This is a critical resource for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers concerned with sustainable development issues, and a fresh reference for graduate level students and academics focusing on corporate governance, sustainable development and ethics, as well as multinational enterprise management.

Guided by the overarching question “how and why does the emerging economy context matter for business?”, this collection brings together key contributions of Klaus Meyer on multinational enterprises (MNEs) competing in, and originating from, emerging economies. The book also explores how outward investment strategies contribute to building internationally competitive MNEs.

The Role of Multinational Enterprises in Supporting the United Nations’ SDGs is an exploration of the place of the private sector in implementing select Sustainable Development Goals. Beyond the abundant literature published by the United Nations and journal articles, there are few book-length treatments of the unique role that multinationals play as facilitators of goal implementation and agents of change. This volume aims to stimulate debate and research on MNEs’ best practices, fleshing out many of the seventeen goals through the lens of corporate strategic choices.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development in Emerging Economies is an anthology of seven case studies plus two theoretical chapters in a comparative context. It analyzes issues related to the rise of multinational corporations, their immense economic and political influence in a globalized world, and their social responsibility/corporate citizenship. Corporate social responsibility is closely examined in terms of meeting the challenges of the widening gap between rich and poor, relationships with sovereign states, environmental degradation, exploitation of natural resources, labor practices, and human rights issues in societies in which multinational corporations operate. Are these corporations exempt from social roles and accountable to only their shareholders (the minimalist position propounded by economists such as Milton Friedman ), or do they also have ethical and social responsibilities to participate in improving the quality of human lives in impoverished societies in Africa , Asia and Latin America?

Multinational economic actors, particularly corporations, play a defining role in the response to the climate change or warming debate and the emerging scientific consensus. This book describes, explains, and predicts how multinational firms will rise to the multiple challenges posed by global climate issues and the organizational and behavioral various responses of the international corporate community. It focuses on three core research and learning objectives. Firstly, it develops the core idea that multinational enterprises cannot implement meaningful sustainability initiatives without an appropriate governance system and corporate culture. Building on this notion, it addresses the question of environmental sustainability across select industry sectors, such oil and banking. Finally, drawing on a diverse range of contributing experts, it presents select best practices such as the opportunities arising from smart technologies implementation to achieve symbiotic industrial relationships, directed particularly towards the ecological environment of these firms’ transborder operations and global reach.

Analysing the role of multinational investors in emerging Asian economies and the implications for regional economic integration, this astute study examines the increasing role being played by Asian countries in the global economy. Encompassing a large number of diverse manufacturing and service sectors, this book highlights the cultural and strategic challenges faced by multinational investors in the region in which they invest. It shows that despite high rates of economic growth in Asian countries presenting multinational traders and investors with unparalleled market opportunities, there have been only tentative moves towards regional economic integration. Areas such as trade facilitation, uniform customs clearance, removal of non-tariff barriers and labour deployment issues are yet to be adequately addressed.

This key new book synthesises Peter Buckley's work on ‘the global factory’ – the modern networked multinational enterprise. The role of interfirm networks, entrepreneurship and cooperation in the creation and management of global factories leads to a discussion of their governance, internal knowledge transfer strategies and performance, including their role in potentially combating societal failures. Emerging country multinationals are examined as a special case of global factories with a focus on Indian and Chinese multinationals, their involvement in tax havens and offshore financial centres, the performance and processes of their acquisition strategies – all seen as key aspects of globalisation.