Insights into corporate social responsibility disclosure among multinational corporations during host‐country political transformations: Evidence from the Libyan oil industry

Abstract

This study investigates the corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) practices of multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in the Libyan oil industry, particularly amidst significant political transformations within the host‐country (HSC). By examining these insights, we aim to shed light on how these corporations navigate and address CSRD considerations in a dynamic and politically evolving environment. To analyse these aspects, we employ various econometric models, including two‐stage least squares (2SLS) and propensity score matching (PSM). Our examination covers a dataset of 6000 data points representing 35 multinational oil corporations headquartered in 18 different home countries (HMCs) across five continents, spanning the years from 2008 to 2015. Our findings indicated that the level of institutional quality convergence between MNCs' HMCs and HSC significantly determines the extent of HSC‐related CSRD by MNCs. Additionally, the study emphasised that MNCs' internationalisation and business horizon within the HSC are critical factors influencing their CSRD in that country. The findings furthermore suggested that MNCs with a higher CSRD might exert an influence on the political decisions of their HMCs' governments concerning the political crisis in the HSC.