The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Speed of OFDI under the Belt and Road Initiative

Xianjing Wang, Shouming Chen and Yueqi Wang ()
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Xianjing Wang: School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Shouming Chen: School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Yueqi Wang: School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: Since the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese firms have actively responded to the government’s call to accelerate outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). Based on resource dependence theory and institutional theory, this study investigates the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the speed of OFDI under BRI and its boundary conditions. The results show that CSR can promote the speed of OFDI under BRI because CSR can help a firm accumulate strategic resources, including external benefits such as a good corporate image, and internal resources such as human capital and dynamic capabilities, and thus enhance legitimacy in host countries and its ability to resist potential risks. We also find that both state ownership and CEO political connections weaken the positive effect of CSR, and if the firm is in the key provinces or key industries of BRI, the positive relationship between CSR and the speed of OFDI under BRI will decrease. Our study contributes to the literature on international business and provides suggestions for firms participating in BRI.

Keywords: Belt and Road Initiative; corporate social responsibility; speed of OFDI; government-enterprise relationship; key provinces and industries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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