Learning how to implement a French firm's CSR policy in an emerging country

The implementation by a foreign multinational of its social responsibility policy in an emerging country raises the question of the boundaries of the firm. In emerging countries, when a company is the only economic player in a particular area, the links between local and corporate governance are all the more important as government action is weak. This study examines the process used by a French company to learn how to implement its social responsibility policy in an emerging country, Indonesia. By taking into account the management of externalities, firms become part of the environment and their embeddedness leads them to be in contact with both contractual and non contractual stakeholders. This social and economic overlapping places firms in a relational model which will determine their behavior towards CSR. Firms willing to take on their responsibility whilst taking into account the various stakeholders must accept that their strategic choices may be questioned even though they remain first tier players. This proactive behavior is part of a systems logic in which learning takes place using feedback. Thro their desire to provide an answer to the integration of the various levels of responsibility, firms take part in an organizational learning process, in which interactions between individuals are multiplied and coordinated. The beginnings of coordination tend to show that the way is still open to reach the learning objectives. This research is based mainly on qualitative data. Several semi-structured interviews were held between June 2010 and January 2011, with managers in charge of the mining project and with external stakeholders. The results of the study show that the implementation by a multinational of its social responsibility policy in an emerging country follows a learning process. To increase its social acceptability, the company develops internal structures, such as a communication department and a foundation dedicated to the local communities, and uses the services of external structures, such as the World Bank's MIGA and French academic, port and health institutions.