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<p>Existing studies suggest that MNEs strategically engage in corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) to arbitrage institutional differences and secure legitimacy. However, less attention has been given to the role of organizational cognition in shaping CSI decisions. Drawing on cognitive dissonance theory, we argue that CSI acts are deliberate outcomes of organizational cognition processes, wherein the interpretation of formal and informal institutional distance significantly influences MNEs’ response to keep cognition consistency. Using a dataset of Fortune 500 MNEs operating in China from 2003 to 2019, our empirical analysis reveals that greater formal institutional distance leads MNEs to reduce CSI engagement, whereas greater informal institutional distance prompts them to justify CSI behaviors. Furthermore, these relationships are moderated by the degree of dependence on host countries, local embeddedness, and survival pressure. Our study offers new insights into the micro-level mechanisms underlying CSI in international business by introducing an organizational cognition perspective.</p>

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"Justified" corporate social irresponsibility: an organizational cognitive perspective based on institutional distance interpretation

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月9日

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  • Haijian Liu,
  • Haiyan Li

摘要

Existing studies suggest that MNEs strategically engage in corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) to arbitrage institutional differences and secure legitimacy. However, less attention has been given to the role of organizational cognition in shaping CSI decisions. Drawing on cognitive dissonance theory, we argue that CSI acts are deliberate outcomes of organizational cognition processes, wherein the interpretation of formal and informal institutional distance significantly influences MNEs’ response to keep cognition consistency. Using a dataset of Fortune 500 MNEs operating in China from 2003 to 2019, our empirical analysis reveals that greater formal institutional distance leads MNEs to reduce CSI engagement, whereas greater informal institutional distance prompts them to justify CSI behaviors. Furthermore, these relationships are moderated by the degree of dependence on host countries, local embeddedness, and survival pressure. Our study offers new insights into the micro-level mechanisms underlying CSI in international business by introducing an organizational cognition perspective.