Sustainability and Multinational Enterprises: The Need for Diffuse Power

Edgar Bellow, Lotfi Hamzi, Huai Yuan Han  
(NEOMA Business School, France)

Abstract: This is a time of global economic and environmental transition, and the balance of power between MNEs and developing communities has yet to be determined. MNEs can take a role in moving the conversation forward, but the issue and disenchantment with the status quo and the polarization between rich and poor needs to be addressed. This is especially true in the United States where shifts in power on a global basis, and the movement of power from the hegemon towards developing nations, are seen to be threats to the established culture of dominance and way of life. With decreases in availability of natural resources such as water and oil, MNEs need to take a leadership role in decreasing hegemonic power structures and working towards diffuse power relationships with labor organizations, resource industry innovators, and developing nation leaders.

Key words: sustainability; MNEs; leadership; diffuse power; economy hegemony; change

JEL codes: O11, P4, Q5