Title: Ethical criticism as a source of political risk for multinational enterprises: a conceptual framework and a research agenda

Authors: Cecilia Emma Sottilotta

Addresses: The American University of Rome, Via Pietro Roselli 4, 00153 Rome, Italy

Abstract: In recent times, political events - such as abrupt changes in government policies, social protests, episodes of corruption - have come to the fore as key sources of risk to the operations of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in host countries. Nonetheless, the conceptual boundaries of 'political risk' or 'political risks' have always been blurry. This paper aims at providing a theoretical framework to identify and analyse a particular type of political risk to which MNEs are exposed, that is the risk of incurring in reputational and non-reputational costs associated with the transgression of ethical norms on their part. In doing so, the article will also outline a research agenda meant to bridge the gap between the 'classic' literature on political risk and the study of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Keywords: corporate social responsibility; CSR; political risk; ethical risk; multinational enterprise; MNE; business environment; risk analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBE.2018.093289

International Journal of Business Environment, 2018 Vol.10 No.1, pp.1 - 13

Received: 06 Jan 2018
Accepted: 10 Mar 2018

Published online: 24 Jul 2018 *

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