IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/joibpo/v6y2023i1d10.1057_s42214-022-00141-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of corporations in addressing non-market institutional voids during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of an emerging economy

Author

Listed:
  • Suzana B. Rodrigues

    (Erasmus University
    UnB – Universidade de Brasilia)

  • John Child

    (The University of Birmingham)

Abstract

International business scholars have been urged to investigate how multinationals respond to grand challenges, one of which has been the COVID-19 pandemic. We provide insights into how corporations have mitigated social and economic externalities triggered by the pandemic in the presence of non-market institutional voids – policy failures in the provision of collective goods. We distinguish between corporate responses to long-term chronic voids and to acute voids that are contingent on crisis situations. We identify six categories of initiatives undertaken in Brazil by 55 Brazilian and foreign-owned multinationals. Due to their international experience, foreign multinationals appear to be better equipped than local ones to pursue standardized non-market initiatives, based on their technical capabilities and their established trust-based relationships with international foundations. This issue merits further investigation. We suggest that our analytical framework for understanding events and corporate responses in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic can be applied to many other emerging countries, and hence could be useful to policymakers, businesses, and other types of organizations in confronting acute crises in contexts where institutional failures are persistent. The ability of multinationals to alleviate sources of socio-economic disruption also advances the ongoing debate over the future role of the corporation in society.

Suggested Citation

  • Suzana B. Rodrigues & John Child, 2023. "The role of corporations in addressing non-market institutional voids during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of an emerging economy," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(1), pages 115-132, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:joibpo:v:6:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1057_s42214-022-00141-0
    DOI: 10.1057/s42214-022-00141-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s42214-022-00141-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s42214-022-00141-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonathan P. Doh & Thomas Lawton & Tazeeb Rajwani, 2012. "Advancing Nonmarket Strategy Research : Institutional Perspectives in a Changing World," Post-Print hal-02276718, HAL.
    2. Hartwell, Christopher A. & Devinney, Timothy, 2021. "Populism, political risk, and pandemics: The challenges of political leadership for business in a post-COVID world," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(4).
    3. Sarianna Lundan & Ari Assche, 2021. "From the editors: Reflections on the nexus of complementarity between international business research and the policy practitioner community," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(2), pages 201-205, June.
    4. Valentina Marano & Peter Tashman & Tatiana Kostova, 2017. "Escaping the iron cage: Liabilities of origin and CSR reporting of emerging market multinational enterprises," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(3), pages 386-408, April.
    5. Jonathan Doh & Suzana Rodrigues & Ayse Saka-Helmhout & Mona Makhija, 2017. "International business responses to institutional voids," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(3), pages 293-307, April.
    6. Perugini, Cristiano & Vladisavljevic, Marko, 2020. "Social Stability Challenged: Pandemics, Inequality and Policy Responses," IZA Discussion Papers 13249, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Garrone, Paola & Piscitello, Lucia & D'Amelio, Matilde, 2019. "Multinational Enterprises and the Provision of Collective Goods in Developing Countries under Formal and Informal Institutional Voids. The Case of Electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 1-1.
    8. Ruth V. Aguilera & Birgitte Grøgaard, 2019. "The dubious role of institutions in international business: A road forward," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(1), pages 20-35, February.
    9. C. Bryce & P. Ring & S. Ashby & J. K. Wardman, 2020. "Resilience in the face of uncertainty: early lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(7-8), pages 880-887, August.
    10. Kobrin, Stephen J., 2009. "Private Political Authority and Public Responsibility: Transnational Politics, Transnational Firms, and Human Rights," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(3), pages 349-374, July.
    11. Peter Tashman & Valentina Marano & Tatiana Kostova, 2019. "Walking the walk or talking the talk? Corporate social responsibility decoupling in emerging market multinationals," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(2), pages 153-171, March.
    12. Ari Van Assche & Sarianna Lundan, 2020. "From the editor: COVID-19 and international business policy," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(3), pages 273-279, September.
    13. Jan Anton van Zanten & Rob van Tulder, 2018. "Multinational enterprises and the Sustainable Development Goals: An institutional approach to corporate engagement," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 1(3), pages 208-233, December.
    14. Pei Sun & Jonathan P. Doh & Tazeeb Rajwani & Donald Siegel, 2021. "Navigating cross-border institutional complexity: A review and assessment of multinational nonmarket strategy research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(9), pages 1818-1853, December.
    15. Rajneesh Narula, 2020. "Policy opportunities and challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic for economies with large informal sectors," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(3), pages 302-310, September.
    16. Addisu A. Lashitew, 2021. "Corporate uptake of the Sustainable Development Goals: Mere greenwashing or an advent of institutional change?," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 184-200, March.
    17. Stephen J. Kobrin, 2020. "How globalization became a thing that goes bump in the night," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(3), pages 280-286, September.
    18. Niraja Srinivasan & Lorraine Eden, 2021. "Going digital multinationals: Navigating economic and social imperatives in a post-pandemic world," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(2), pages 228-243, June.
    19. Michael Hitt & R. Michael Holmes & Jean-Luc Arregle, 2021. "The (COVID-19) Pandemic and the New World (Dis)Order," Post-Print hal-03188240, HAL.
    20. Rob Van Tulder & Suzana B. Rodrigues & Hafiz Mirza & Kathleen Sexsmith, 2021. "The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals: Can multinational enterprises lead the Decade of Action?," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-21, March.
    21. Allison F Kingsley & Benjamin A T Graham, 2017. "The effects of information voids on capital flows in emerging markets," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(3), pages 324-343, April.
    22. Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Yongtae Kim, 2017. "Country-level institutions, firm value, and the role of corporate social responsibility initiatives," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(3), pages 360-385, April.
    23. Atkinson, P. & Gobat, N. & Lant, S. & Mableson, H. & Pilbeam, C. & Solomon, T. & Tonkin-Crine, S. & Sheard, S., 2020. "Understanding the policy dynamics of COVID-19 in the UK: Early findings from interviews with policy makers and health care professionals," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    24. Hitt, Michael A. & Holmes, R. Michael & Arregle, Jean-Luc, 2021. "The (COVID-19) pandemic and the new world (dis)order," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(4).
    25. Jean-François Hennart, 2019. "Digitalized service multinationals and international business theory," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(8), pages 1388-1400, October.
    26. James X. Zhan, 2021. "GVC transformation and a new investment landscape in the 2020s: Driving forces, directions, and a forward-looking research and policy agenda," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(2), pages 206-220, June.
    27. Johanna Mair & Ignasi Marti & Marc Ventresca, 2012. "Building Inclusive Markets in Rural Bangladesh : How Intermediaries Work Institutional Voids," Post-Print hal-02276707, HAL.
    28. Elisa Giuliani, 2020. "Piketty, Thunberg, or Marx? Shifting ideologies in the COVID-19 bailout conditionality debate," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(4), pages 443-450, December.
    29. K. S. Manikandan & J. Ramachandran, 2015. "Beyond institutional voids: Business groups, incomplete markets, and organizational form," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 598-617, April.
    30. Johanna Mair & Ignasi Marti & Marc Ventresca, 2012. "Building Inclusive Markets in Rural Bangladesh : How Intermediaries Work Institutional Voids," Post-Print hal-02312706, HAL.
    31. Anton Gollwitzer & Cameron Martel & William J. Brady & Philip Pärnamets & Isaac G. Freedman & Eric D. Knowles & Jay J. Van Bavel, 2020. "Partisan differences in physical distancing are linked to health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 4(11), pages 1186-1197, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Arindam Das & Pia A. Albinsson, 2023. "Consumption Culture and Critical Sustainability Discourses: Voices from the Global South," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-19, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rekha Rao-Nicholson & Htwe Htwe Thein & Yifan Zhong, 2024. "A thematic analysis of the links between multinational enterprises’ corporate social responsibility and the Sustainable Development Goals in Myanmar," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(2), pages 203-223, June.
    2. Pei Sun & Jonathan P. Doh & Tazeeb Rajwani & Donald Siegel, 2021. "Navigating cross-border institutional complexity: A review and assessment of multinational nonmarket strategy research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(9), pages 1818-1853, December.
    3. Nathaniel Boso & Joseph Amankwah-Amoah & Dominic Essuman & Oluwaseun E. Olabode & Patience Bruce & Magnus Hultman & James Kofi Kutsoati & Ogechi Adeola, 2023. "Configuring political relationships to navigate host-country institutional complexity: Insights from Anglophone sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 54(6), pages 1055-1089, August.
    4. Peprah, Augustine Awuah & Atarah, Bede Akorige & Kumodzie-Dussey, Makafui Kwame, 2024. "Nonmarket strategy and legitimacy in institutionally voided environments: The case of Jumia, an African e-commerce giant," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(2).
    5. Jingtao Yi & Jiatao Li & Liang Chen, 2023. "Ecosystem social responsibility in international digital commerce," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 54(1), pages 24-41, February.
    6. Dieleman, Marleen & Markus, Stanislav & Rajwani, Tazeeb & White, George O., 2022. "Revisiting Institutional Voids: Advancing the International Business Literature by Leveraging Social Sciences," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(3).
    7. Sato, Akiko & Panibratov, Andrei, 2023. "Causal mechanisms of COVID-19 disruptive effects on liability of foreignness and the emergence of new firm-specific advantages," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    8. Alaydi, Sharif & Buck, Trevor & Tang, Yee Kwan, 2021. "Strategic responses to extreme institutional challenges: An MNE case study in the Palestinian mobile phone sector," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(3).
    9. Helen Wei Hu & Lin Cui & Preet S Aulakh, 2019. "State capitalism and performance persistence of business group-affiliated firms: A comparative study of China and India," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(2), pages 193-222, March.
    10. Simon Hartmann & Thomas Lindner & Jakob Müllner & Jonas Puck, 2022. "Beyond the nation-state: Anchoring supranational institutions in international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(6), pages 1282-1306, August.
    11. Bu, Maoliang & Xu, Liang & Tang, Ryan W., 2023. "MNEs’ transfer of socially irresponsible practices: A replication with new extensions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2).
    12. Soliman, Salma & Papanastassiou, Marina & Saka-Helmhout, Ayse, 2023. "The role of subsidiaries in Global Value Chains (GVCs): An institutional voids perspective on LVC upgrading and integration," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    13. Puhr, Harald & Müllner, Jakob, 2022. "Foreign to all but fluent in many: The effect of multinationality on shock resilience," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(6).
    14. Saeed, Abubakr & Riaz, Hammad & Baloch, Muhammad Saad, 2022. "Institutional voids, liability of origin, and presence of women in TMT of emerging market multinationals," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(4).
    15. Mike W. Peng & Joyce C. Wang & Nishant Kathuria & Jia Shen & Miranda J. Welbourne Eleazar, 2023. "Toward an institution-based paradigm," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 353-382, June.
    16. Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele & Peprah, Augustine Awuah & Amartey, Abednego Okoe & Rajwani, Tazeeb, 2020. "Institutional voids and firms' resource commitment in emerging markets: A review and future research agenda," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(3).
    17. Shirodkar, Vikrant & Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele & Rajwani, Tazeeb & Lawton, Thomas C., 2024. "MNE nonmarket strategy in a changing world: Complexities, varieties, and a values-based approach," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(2).
    18. Kristin Brandl & Elizabeth Moore & Camille Meyer & Jonathan Doh, 2022. "The impact of multinational enterprises on community informal institutions and rural poverty," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(6), pages 1133-1152, August.
    19. Andrei Panibratov & Ramsés A. Sánchez Herrera & Alvar Castello Esquerdo & Daria Klishevich, 2023. "Surviving populism: A corporate political activity approach in Mexico," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(2), pages 182-200, June.
    20. Il Park, Byung & Xiao, Shufeng (Simon), 2021. "Doing good by combating bad in the digital world: Institutional pressures, anti-corruption practices, and competitive implications of MNE foreign subsidiaries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 194-205.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:joibpo:v:6:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1057_s42214-022-00141-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.