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Exploring the Relationship Between Firm Internationalization and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis

Author

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  • Yaxin Xie

    (SILC Business School, Shanghai University, Shanghai 201800, China)

  • Ruochen Zeng

    (SILC Business School, Shanghai University, Shanghai 201800, China)

Abstract

Under global economic integration, firms are active in transnational operations, prompting all sectors to deepen their awareness of the role of enterprises and pay attention to the fulfillment of their social responsibility. Although the existing literature has explored the impact of firm internationalization (FI) on corporate social responsibility (CSR), there is a lack of comprehensive analysis focusing on the interactions between the different dimensions of the two and how they are influenced by the system of the sample’s country of origin. Therefore, this study aimed to comprehensively investigate the current developments, trends and hotspots of the relationship between FI and CSR, and at the same time summarize the current major theoretical perspectives and empirical findings in this area. This study utilized the Web of Science database to conduct a bibliometric analysis and a literature review analysis of 331 studies published up to 2024 in order to identify trends and patterns in the relationship between FI and CSR. Specifically, the bibliometric analysis utilized Cite Space 6.4.R1 and VOSviewer 1.6.19 to analyze the collected and screened literature data, clarify the distribution of the core research power, and discover hotspots and trends through keyword analysis, whereas the literature review analysis sorted out the complex relationship between FI and CSR through extensive reading of the literature and an analysis of it from both theoretical perspectives. The empirical results and their aspects are summarized. The findings demonstrate that the research in this field shows an increasing trend year by year, in which American and British universities and research institutes are in the leading position in this field, and Asian emerging economies are also emerging in this field. The current hotspot is still focused on the impact of the degree of internationalization on the fulfillment of social responsibility, but some scholars have begun to carry out interdisciplinary research, focusing on the emerging markets through micro case studies. At the same time, this study also found that there is a complex interaction between FI and CSR; on the one hand, this is due to the fact that scholars use different theoretical perspectives in different practice contexts, and on the other hand, it is because scholars use different research methods and samples, which leads to the heterogeneity of the final empirical results. This study provides a clear guideline for subsequent researchers to quickly grasp the research pattern through the bibliometric analysis, which greatly saves on exploration time and energy in the pre-study period, while the literature review analysis summarizes the framework of the previous studies for readers, and sorts out the complex relationship between FI and CSR clearly. Overall, this study provides ideas for firms to adopt CSR in their internationalization strategies, as well as a basis for relevant sectoral organizations to formulate policies and regulatory measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Yaxin Xie & Ruochen Zeng, 2025. "Exploring the Relationship Between Firm Internationalization and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-21, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:4:p:1439-:d:1587640
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    References listed on IDEAS

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