Sowing the seeds for political influence: Incorporating the UN SDGs into MNEs’ nonmarket strategy

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are changing the way multinational enterprises (MNEs) engage with host governments. SDGs present a unique opportunity for MNEs to build influence by assisting governments in attaining the social needs of a host country. However, international business scholars have remained largely silent on the mechanisms by which ‘doing good’ is repurposed to influence host government officials in emerging markets. Using a multiple case study of four Western European MNE subsidiaries in Indonesia, we uncover the strategies by which MNEs translate the increasing global focus on corporate social responsibility into political influence on host country governments. Our study elucidates three types of SDG-directed nonmarket strategies— SDG-directed cross-sector partnership, SDG-directed conflict management, and SDG-directed constituency building—that speak to tensions MNEs experience when facing heterogeneous government priorities, corruption and skepticism toward MNEs. We advance the literature on the complementarity of strategic corporate social responsibility and political activities by explaining how key actors within the MNE subsidiary resolve such tensions and convert SDG-directed contributions into political influence.