Corporate Responsibility in the Postnational Constellation

In this doctoral thesis, the findings of a multiple-case study on the CSR approach of three multinational companies are presented, applying Basu and Palazzo's (2008) CSR-character as a process model of sensemaking, Suchman's (1995) framework on legitimation strategies, and Habermas (1996) concept of deliberative democracy. For the empirical part, elements of a deductive and inductive theory building methodology are combined with rigorous qualitative and quantitative data analysis. The results indicate three different coping behaviors that provide insights into the corporate mindset. Moreover, it appears that multinational corporations can no longer derive their legitimacy only from national frameworks, forcing them to integrate political strategies that reflect their growing (self-)perception as political actors. Finally, a model is developed which relates the different dimensions of corporate responsibility to the discussion on deliberative democracy, global governance and social innovation to provide guidance for multinational companies in a postnational world.