서강대학교

초록/요약

Within the context of MNC subsidiaries, this study investigates the effects of internal and external CSR on social impact and firm performance. The author categorizes Luo’s (2006) four CSR building blocks – ethical codes, philanthropic contribution, organizational credibility, and resource accommodation – into internal and external CSR. Employing stakeholder theory as its conceptual framework, this study argues that through internal and external CSR initiatives, subsidiaries garner legitimacy in the eyes of their stakeholders in the communities in which they operate. This study develops hypotheses to argue that internal and external CSR positively influences social impact and firm performance. The author hypothesizes that the effect of internal and external CSR on social impact and firm performance is dependent on the degree of the subsidiaries’ localization. This study analyzes a sample of 149 Korean subsidiaries in developing and emerging markets in order to examine the proposed hypotheses. The results of statistical analysis of the data provide empirical support for these hypotheses, and indicate that internal and external CSR have a positive effect on social impact. Although internal and external CSR does not directly affect firm performance, the results imply that their effect on firm performance may primarily be achieved through social impact. The results also show that Korean subsidiaries’ localization as a moderating variable has a positive effect on the relationship between external CSR and firm performance.