Tracing the connections between international business and communicable diseases

Abstract

We posit that international business and the emergence and spread of communicable diseases are intrinsically connected. To support our arguments, we first start with a historical timeline that traces the connections between international business and communicable diseases back to the sixth century. Second, following the epidemiology of communicable diseases, we identify two crucial transitions related to international business: the emergence of epidemics within a host country and the shift from epidemics to global pandemics. Third, we highlight international business contextual factors (host country regulatory quality, urbanization, trade barriers, global migration) and multinationals' activities (foreign direct investment, corporate political activity, global supply chain management, international travel) that could accelerate each transition. Finally, building on public health insights, we suggest research implications for business scholars on how to integrate human health challenges into their studies and practical implications for global managers on how to help prevent the emergence and spread of communicable diseases.

Corporate activities that influence population health: A scoping review and qualitative synthesis to develop the HEALTH-CORP typology

“…Kadandale, Marten, and Smith [79] described how slash- and-burn land clearing practices used by the palm oil industry created episodes of harmful haze in South-East Asia, which led to thousands of premature deaths and increases in the rates of respiratory, eye, and skin diseases. Montiel [114] described the health harms of deforestation by pointing to reports that land clearing in Indonesia by the palm oil and sugar industries led to the emergence of the Nipah virus through zoonosis (transfer of a virus from animals to humans).…”

“…Some articles also described corporate influences on global inequities, including the ‘downward pressure’ on working conditions via corporations’ use of low-wage havens [40,41,113,114], exploitation of the weaker regulatory structures of LMICs, the extraction of wealth from LMICs to HICs [108,114], and the identification of LMICs as ‘emerging markets’ by unhealthy commodity producers (e.g., tobacco) to replace declines in consumption in HICs [36,40,43,72,128].…”

“…In some cases, initiatives ostensibly undertaken to improve equity (i.e., efforts to diversify cannabis industry employment) were seen as self-serving attempts to advance industry interests (e.g., increase consumption) [27]. Some articles also described corporate influences on global inequities, including the 'downward pressure' on working conditions via corporations' use of low-wage havens [40,41,113,114], exploitation of the weaker regulatory structures of LMICs, the extraction of wealth from LMICs to HICs [108,114], and the identification of LMICs as 'emerging markets' by unhealthy commodity producers (e.g., tobacco) to replace declines in consumption in HICs [36,40,43,72,128].…”

Multinational firms and sustainability in global supply chains: scope and boundaries of responsibility

“…Such a focus is motivated by the growing evidence that MNCs' economic, social, and environmental impacts are linked not only to their foreign direct investments (FDI) but also to their sourcing decisions (McKinsey, 2020). This connection has become particularly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic and recent geopolitical tensions, which have brought to light the fragility of existing global supply chains as well as the negative impact of these forces on workers who are part of these networks (George & Schillebeeckx, 2022;ILO, 2021;Montiel et al, 2022). The limited diffusion of adequate social and environmental practices among global supply chain partners is creating significant risks and negative impacts for local suppliers and workers in emerging markets as well as for the MNCs who coordinate the productive chains in which they are embedded.…”