A Cross-Cultural Study On Corporate Social Responsibility In U.S. American And Chinese Corporations

During the past thirty years, the world has entered an era of globalization. More and more corporations have extended their operations to every corner in the world. While globalization brings a lot of benefits to people, people start to question the operations of multinational corporations (MNCs). The world business has been undergoing the most intense scrutiny it has ever received from the public. To name a few of the charges brought against business, it has little concern for people, is indifferent to the deteriorating of natural environment, and cares nothing about the well-being of the community. Corporations do not exist by themselves, but have to survive and grow within a society. It is never a doubt in my mind that, apart from the common goal of pursuing maximum profit, corporations should take on social responsibilities to make their communities, countries and even the whole world a better place for human race to live in. As a result, the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) was born.However, in the globalization era today, is CSR a standardized concept across different cultures? Do societies vary in expecting businesses to fulfill their CSR? Is CSR understood and interpreted differently when put into a different cultural context? What should managers of multinational corporations (MNCs) in a host country expect in terms of CSR? How should MNCs adapt their CSR to a foreign culture? By using Hofstede's five cultural dimensions as his theoretical foundation and discussing CSR from a cross-cultural perspective, the author of this paper has identified the differences in interpreting and performing CSR by various cultures. It is the author's hope that this paper will provide useful insights into cross-cultural CSR to both US and Chinese corporations.