In a world that is becoming more unstable the implementation of CSR activities is changing. CSR started at the corporate level in a context that firm behaviour should move away from a concentration on profit seeking. Multinational companies (MNCs) must take responsibility for contributing (or not) to the progress of society, environment, and economy in developing countries as some large MNCs can have more economic and social power than governments (Garriga & Mele, 2004). Understanding how MNCs execute corporate social responsibility (CSR) in diverse and developing countries worldwide is still at an early stage, (Hah & Freeman, 2014). Microfoundational studies are vital because the understanding of how communication, cognition, and behaviour at micro-levels influence and are influenced by higher-level structures then permits researchers to develop a better understanding of diversity in institutional results. This study explores the practice of CSR through exploratory qualitative interviews using Lebanon as a case study. A major contribution is that the levels of CSR engagement are impacted by institutional theory. The microfoundations are thus institutional work, becoming institutional entrepreneurship at the meso level using that as a way to legitimize their operations in Lebanon. Macro and meso level aspects are developed from these CSR microdynamics. It also discusses how people who work in Lebanon make sense of CSR using an identified centrifugal approach and tailoring processes to suit the religious and social context.

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