ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reviews the literature in the field of Corporate Social Performance (CSP), examining the concept of CSP and discussing the lack of a unifying theory or paradigm to guide its use. It shows one theoretical lens, that of a stakeholder framework, that can be usefully applied to understanding motivations to achieve certain levels of CSP. The book examines the literature on multinational corporations, focusing upon the characteristics and distinctive competencies that characterize ultinational corporations’s. It describes the literature on institutional ownership and dimensions of corporate social performance. The book provides a short discussion of a number of contextual variables, particularly at the industry level, that may be expected to impact the hypotheses related to multinationality and institutional ownership. It discusses the analytical techniques to be employed in testing hypotheses.
