Between Geopolitcs and ESG norms: How MNEs react to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Résumé
This paper examines the effect of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on decisions of MNEs on their operations in Russia. It proposes a geopolitical perspective of International Management in the context of de-globalization. It also includes ESG criteria in an institutional and societal framework, in addition to the ESG scores of firms, to explain the decisions of MNEs. We have conducted a regression analysis on a sample of more than 1200 MNEs, testing the effect of selected geopolitical, institutional and ESG variables on the dependent variable ‘exit decision’. Our results indicate that the MNEs made their exit decisions in conformity with the decisions made by their home states. They also show a significant positive effect of the ESG factors, and more specifically those reflecting shared values in their home country (Democracy and Human Rights) on their exit decisions