China's "going-out" strategy and corporate social responsibility: preliminary evidence of a "boomerang effect"
In: Journal of contemporary China, Band 26, Heft 108, S. 820-833
ISSN: 1067-0564
China's rapidly growing outbound foreign direct investment (OFDI) has attracted a great deal of concern about its impact on the recipient countries. But so far there has been little research on what effect the "going-out" strategy has had on China itself. This is an important question to study because the answer to it will shed light on what kind of an international actor China is becoming as it becomes further integrated with the global economy and what outside influence there can be on China's domestic governance reform. This article explores the effect of investing overseas on Chinese companies in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Through an analysis of an original sample of data, the authors find preliminary evidence of a positive impact of OFDI on Chinese companies' commitment to CSR. More research will be needed to uncover the mechanisms and limitations of this apparent trend toward institutional convergence. (J Contemp China/GIGA)