Corporate Commitment to Global Quality of Life Issues: Do Slack Resources, Industry Affiliations, and Multinational Headquarters Matter?

Abstract

Global markets challenge multinational corporations to harmonize quality of life (QOL) commitments across a broad spectrum of stakeholders with different corporate responsibility perspectives. Few studies have examined strategic planning issues associated with international quality of life (IQOL). This research investigates the importance of slack resources, industry affiliation, and multinational headquarter location (U.S. or non-U.S.) on commitment to societal and individual QOL for Fortune U.S. and global companies. Content analysis of corporate mission statements provides the vehicle for assessing QOL commitment. Models are estimated using logistic regression with instrumental variables included to address potential problems with simultaneity between QOL commitment and return on assets, a proxy for slack resources. Findings include a positive and significant relationship between environmental QOL commitment and slack resources as well as industry and cultural differences in QOL commitment issues.