Which drivers influence the different approaches of companies willing to engage with their communities? Evidences from a case study

Engaging communities where plants are located, especially in the energy sector, is an option for companies to implement Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – intended as the consideration of social and environmental consequences of their activities and the needs and expectations of their stakeholders. This research presents a longitudinal case study of an MNE operating in Europe and North and South America to advance the understanding of the strategies and the resources that companies activate when willing to engage with local communities. Results show that, regardless of the level of commitment, highly inclusive CSR strategies are difficult to implement because the context influence both the strategy execution and the related organisational arrangements. Thus, companies willing to shift from a transactional to a transformational strategy carefully consider which internal and external resources to activate. Besides providing some theoretical guidance on how to achieve coherence between resources and community engagement strategies, the paper offers managerial insights on how to delineate borders between transactional and transformational CSR strategies.