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International business is contributing to environmental crises

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Abstract

All business contributes to environmental crises because of its focus on profit. We argue that international business (IB) contributes more than its fair share. IB's focus on cross-border arbitrage has led to the over-extraction of natural resources and the accumulation of waste. This is a problem because natural resources are limited in quantity and embedded in their local environment. It is time for IB researchers to step up and substantially and meaningfully address IB’s contribution to environmental crises by embracing the principles of natural systems processes within its core assumptions and improving its theorizing of natural resources. In this paper, we take a step forward in this direction by revisiting and refining the theoretical dimensions of country-specific advantages (CSAs) and firm-specific advantages (FSAs) to recognize natural resources more explicitly. We propose three natural resource-based strategies for multinational enterprises (MNEs): reducing, replacing, and regenerating. This article offers a new theoretical perspective on understanding how IB can create value and steward the natural environment, contributing to the sustainability of business, society, and the planet.

Résumé

Toutes les entreprises contribuent aux crises environnementales parce qu'elles se concentrent sur le profit. Nous arguons que les affaires internationales (International Business-IB) contribuent plus que leur juste part. L'accent mis par l'IB sur l'arbitrage transfrontalier a conduit à une sur-extraction des ressources naturelles et à l'accumulation de déchets. C'est un problème, car les ressources naturelles sont limitées en quantité et encastrées dans leur environnement local. Il est temps pour les chercheurs en IB d'agir et d’aborder de manière substantielle et significative la contribution de l'IB aux crises environnementales en intégrant les principes des processus des systèmes naturels dans les postulats du domaine de l’IB et en améliorant sa théorisation des ressources naturelles. Dans cet article, nous faisons un pas en avant dans cette direction en revisitant et en affinant les dimensions théoriques des avantages spécifiques aux pays (Country-Specific Advantages-CSAs) et des avantages spécifiques aux entreprises (Firm-Specific Advantages-FSAs) afin de reconnaître plus explicitement les ressources naturelles. Nous proposons trois stratégies basées sur les ressources naturelles aux entreprises multinationales (Multinational Enterprises-MNEs) : réduire, remplacer et régénérer. Cet article offre une nouvelle perspective théorique pour comprendre comment l’IB peut créer de la valeur et gérer l'environnement naturel, contribuant ainsi à la durabilité des entreprises, de la société et de la planète.

Resumen

Todos los negocios contribuyen a las crisis medioambientales debido a su enfoque en las ganancias. Sostenemos que los negocios internacionales contribuyen más de lo que les corresponde. El enfoque los negocios internacionales en el arbitraje transfronterizo ha provocado la sobreexplotación de los recursos naturales y la acumulación de residuos. Esto es un problema, porque los recursos naturales son limitados en cantidad y están integrados en su entorno local. Es tiempo que de que los investigadores de negocios internacionales intensifiquen y aborden de forma sustancial y significativa la contribución de los negocios a las crisis medioambientales, adoptando los principios de los procesos de los sistemas naturales dentro de sus supuestos básicos y mejorando su teorización de los recursos naturales. En este documento, damos un paso adelante en esta dirección sometiendo a revisión y perfeccionando las dimensiones teóricas de las ventajas específicas de los países (CSA por sus iniciales en inglés) y las ventajas específicas de las empresas (FSA por sus siglas en inglés) para reconocer los recursos naturales de forma más explícita. Proponemos tres estrategias basadas en los recursos naturales para las empresas multinacionales: reducir, sustituir y regenerar. Este artículo ofrece una nueva perspectiva teórica para entender cómo negocios internacionales pueden crear valor y administrar el entorno natural, contribuyendo a la sostenibilidad de las empresas, la sociedad y el planeta.

Resumo

Todos os negócios contribuem para crises ambientais por causa do seu foco no lucro. Argumentamos que negócios internacionais (IB) contribuem mais do proporcionalmente. O foco de IB em arbitragem transfronteiriça levou à excessiva extração de recursos naturais e ao acúmulo de resíduos. Isso é um problema, porque recursos naturais são limitados em quantidade e inseridos em seu ambiente local. É hora de pesquisadores de IB se pronunciarem e abordarem de maneira substancial e significativa a contribuição de IB para crises ambientais ao adotar os princípios dos processos de sistemas naturais dentro de suas principais suposições e melhorar sua teorização sobre recursos naturais. Neste artigo, damos um passo adiante nessa direção, revisitando e refinando as dimensões teóricas das vantagens específicas do país (CSAs) e vantagens específicas da empresa (FSAs) para reconhecer recursos naturais mais explicitamente. Propomos três estratégias baseadas em recursos naturais para empresas multinacionais (MNEs): redução, substituição e regeneração. Este artigo oferece uma nova perspectiva teórica para entender como IB pode criar valor e cuidar do meio ambiente, contribuindo para a sustentabilidade de negócios, sociedade e do planeta.

摘要

所有商业由于对利润的专注都会助长环境危机。我们认为, 国际商业 (IB) 的贡献超过了其公平的份额。IB对跨境套利的专注导致自然资源的过度开采和废物的累积。这是一个问题, 因为自然资源数量有限, 且嵌入当地环境中。现在是 IB 研究人员加强并实质性和有意义地解决 IB 对环境危机的贡献的时候了, 方法是在其核心假设中采用自然系统过程原则, 并改进其对自然资源的理论化。在本文中, 我们通过重新审视和完善国家特定优势 (CSA) 和公司特定优势 (FSA) 的理论维度朝这个方向迈进了一步, 以更明确地识别自然资源。我们为跨国企业 (MNE) 提出了三种基于自然资源的战略: 减少、替代和再生。本文为理解 IB 如何创造价值和呵护自然环境提供了一个新的理论视角, 为商业、社会和地球的可持续发展做出了贡献。

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank Editor-in-Chief Alain Verbeke and three anonymous reviewers for their guidance. We also thank Kristin Brandl, Eileen Fischer, Vanessa Hasse, Liang (Arthur) Li, Klaus Meyer, Becky Reuber, and the participants of the 2020 AIB-Canada Chapter & iBEGIN conference and the 2021 AIB Annual Meeting for their constructive feedback.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IESEG School of Management, 1 Parvis de la Défense, 92044, La Défense cedex, France

    Haitao Yu

  2. Ivey Business School, Western University, 1255 Western Rd, London, ON, N6G 0N1, Canada

    Pratima Bansal & Diane-Laure Arjaliès

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  1. Haitao Yu
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  2. Pratima Bansal
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Correspondence to Pratima Bansal.

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Accepted by Alain Verbeke, Editor-in-Chief, 18 October 2022. This article has been with the authors for one revision.

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Yu, H., Bansal, P. & Arjaliès, DL. International business is contributing to environmental crises. J Int Bus Stud 54, 1151–1169 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-022-00590-y

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