International business is contributing to environmental crises

Haitao Yu (), Pratima Bansal () and Diane-Laure Arjaliès ()
Additional contact information
Haitao Yu: IESEG School of Management
Pratima Bansal: Ivey Business School, Western University
Diane-Laure Arjaliès: Ivey Business School, Western University

Journal of International Business Studies, 2023, vol. 54, issue 6, No 11, 1169 pages

Abstract: Abstract All business contributes to environmental crises because of its focus on profit. We argue that international business (IB) contributes more than its fair share. IB's focus on cross-border arbitrage has led to the over-extraction of natural resources and the accumulation of waste. This is a problem because natural resources are limited in quantity and embedded in their local environment. It is time for IB researchers to step up and substantially and meaningfully address IB’s contribution to environmental crises by embracing the principles of natural systems processes within its core assumptions and improving its theorizing of natural resources. In this paper, we take a step forward in this direction by revisiting and refining the theoretical dimensions of country-specific advantages (CSAs) and firm-specific advantages (FSAs) to recognize natural resources more explicitly. We propose three natural resource-based strategies for multinational enterprises (MNEs): reducing, replacing, and regenerating. This article offers a new theoretical perspective on understanding how IB can create value and steward the natural environment, contributing to the sustainability of business, society, and the planet.

Keywords: multinational corporations (MNCs); multinational enterprises (MNEs); business and the environment; firm-specific advantages; natural resources; country-specific advantages; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41267-022-00590-y Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:jintbs:v:54:y:2023:i:6:d:10.1057_s41267-022-00590-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... nt/journal/41267/PS2

DOI: 10.1057/s41267-022-00590-y

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of International Business Studies is currently edited by John Cantwell

More articles in Journal of International Business Studies from Palgrave Macmillan, Academy of International Business
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().