Senapan, N. (2012) Institutional Analysis of Multinational Corporations' Corporate Social Responsibility Policy and Practice in Thailand: A Case Study of Toyota Motor Thailand

Title: Institutional Analysis of Multinational Corporations' Corporate Social Responsibility Policy and Practice in Thailand: A Case Study of Toyota Motor Thailand

Author: Norkaew Senapan

Year: 2012

Keywords: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY / GLOBALIZATION / INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS / MULTINATIONAL CORPORATION / TOYOTA MOTOR THAILAND

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Abstract:

In recent times, Multinational Corporations (MNCs) have become very powerful and have great influence to affect the socio-economic condition of the countries hosting their subsidiary companies. This paper introduces Toyota Motor Thailand (TMT) as a case study to answer the questions which have been debated on the topics of MNCs and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in developing countries. These questions include: (1.) Whether CSR can help as a tool to elevate the standards and regulate MNCs in places where the government institutions are weak. (2.) Whether the globalization necessarily leads to irresponsibility. (3.) Whether the management of CSR in global firms is conducted in a way that aligns and converges with local practices into global forces, or the CSR policy is diverged to be more responsive to local institutional factors.

Using a qualitative research methodology, the study focuses on the TMT's environmental CSR policy that includes production externalities control, stakeholder management, and the firm's contributions to Thai society. The cross comparison technique has been adopted along with the institutional framework of CSR by Dirk Matten and Jeremy Moon. This institutional framework has been used to analyze the globalization process of convergence & divergence in TMT's CSR policy formation and implementation. The result shows that CSR policy formulation and implementation at TMT is considered a hybrid process with inclination towards global integration. Though the influence of institutional factors in Thailand remains significant, it appears limited when compared to the power of global influences and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC)’s policy. The study also shows that convergence force induced by TMC led to improvements in corporate responsible practices.

Contact MAIDS-Chula for more information and full thesis at maidschula@gmail.com

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BANGKOK CAMBODIA CASE STUDY CHIN CIVIL SOCIETY COASTAL GOVERNANCE COMMUNITY COMMUNITY FISHERIES CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DECENTRALIZATION DESECURITIZATION DEVELOPMENT DOMESTIC WORKERS EX-KMT REFUGEES FRONTIER GOVERNANCE FACTORS HUMAN RIGHTS HUMAN SECURITY HUMAN TRAFFICKING IMPLEMENTATION INDONESIA INTEGRATED COASTAL MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL-TRANSFORMATION LIVELIHOOD MALAYSIA MIGRATION MYANMAR NETWORK THEORY NORTHERN THAILAND POST COLD WAR ASIA POVERTY REDUCTION REINTEGRATION RESISTANCE RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH SEASONAL LABOUR MIGRATION SECURITIZATION SOCIAL MOVEMENT SPEECH ACT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TAK PROVINCE THAI BERRY PICKERS THAILAND THAINESS TONLE SAP LAK UDD

Shining, N. (2011) Evaluating the Implementation of EGAT International's Corporate Social Responsibility Policy for the Hatgyi Dam Project on the Salween River, Myanmar

Title: Evaluating the Implementation of EGAT International's Corporate Social Responsibility Policy for the Hatgyi Dam Project on the Salween River, Myanmar

Author: Nang Shining

Year: 2011

Keywords: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, EGATi, HAT GYI DAM, SALWEEN RIVER, TRANS-BOUNDARY PROJECT

Download PDF of Abstract: English Thai

Abstract:

Rising electricity demand in Thailand is a key driving force for building new power projects in Thailand, as well as importing electricity from neighboring countries. One of the proposed prOjects in Thailand's 2010-2030 Power Development Plan is the Hat Gyi Dam, which is located on the mainstream Salween River near the Thailand-Myanmar border in Karen State, Myanmar.The Salween River is approximately 2,400 km long and is regarded as the longest free-flowing international river in Southeast Asia, originating on the Tibetan Plateau and flowing through China, Thailand and Myanmar. The Hat Gyi Dam project is a joint venture cooperation between EGAT International (EGATi), Sinohydro Corporation, the Department of Hydroelectric Power Plan (DHPP) of Myanmar government, and a local Myanmar private investor named International Group of Entrepreneur Company.

As EGATi is a major shareholder, this thesis seeks to assess how EGATi has implemented its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy during planning of the project to date. The thesis main research question is "Has EGATi implemented its Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance policies for communities in Thailand in preparing the proposed Hat Gyi Dam project on the Salween River, Karen State, Myanmar"?

Qualitative research methods have been applied in this study through a combination of in-depth interviews with villagers, semi-structured interviews with key informants and secondary database research. The research sites are the potentially affected communities living along the Salween River on the Thai side, namely Ban Mae Sam Laep, Ban Tha Ta Fang, and Ban Sob Moei, Mae Hong Son Province.

EGATi CSR policy has three key components: Public Participation and Information Disclosure; Social Responsibility; and Environmental Responsibility, Regarding "Public Participation and Information Disclosure", the findings reveal that EGATi has not disclosed complete project information in a timely, accurate, sufficient and transparent manner; for example, the project's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the Myanmar side, completed in 2008, has not been made available to the public. Also, EGATi has yet to form a Tripartite Committee and has only weakly encouraged the communities and wider public to participate in its activities. Regarding "Social Responsibility," EGATi has failed to build mutual understanding and trust with the communities. Regarding "Environmental Responsibility", whilst EGAT has conducted an EIA report, it does not cover the scope of the entire potentially impacted areas in Myanmar and Thailand. Thai civil society have called on EGATi to conduct a new EIA which covers the entire scope of affected area, although a government subcommittee subsequently required EGATi to only undertake an Environmental Assessment that is not equivalent to Thailand's full-EIA legal standards. This legal ambiguity allows EGATi to claim that it has followed its CSR policy on Environmental Responsibility.

Whilst EGATi's CSR is ultimately voluntary, this thesis argues that EGATi has not followed its CSR policy in the case of the Hat Gyi Dam for a number of reasons, including because of the ambiguous laws for the trans-boundary project and its failure to gain the trust and cooperation of the local communities. In turn, communities oppose the Hat Gyi dam due to the value that the communities place on their livelihood and environment, their concerns with regard to their legal status as non-Thai citizens, the influential role of NGOs in the communities, and the strong belief of the co unities that the Myanmar government supports the dam so as to clear ethnic groups from the area.

Contact MAIDS-Chula for more information and full thesis at maidschula@gmail.com

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BIOPOWER CIVIL SOCIETY COASTAL GOVERNANCE COMMUNITY CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CURRENT EDUCATION IN THE CAMP DEMOCRATIZATION DEVELOPMENT DISCOURSE EDUCATION EUROPEAN UNION GOOD GOVERNANCE GOVERNANCE FACTORS HIGHER EDUCATION HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE HUMAN TRAFFICKING ICM IMPLEMENTATION INDONESIA INSTITUTIONS INTEGRATED COASTAL MANAGEMENT KAREN REFUGEES KHMER ROUGE LIVELIHOOD MIGRATION MYANMAR NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT NGO OTOP PARTICIPATORY MANGROVE FORESTRY REINTEGRATION RESISTANCE RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH SHADOW STATE POLITICS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL MOVEMENT SUSTAINABLE COASTAL DEVELOPMENT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TAK PROVINCE THAI-BURMA BORDER THAI-KAREN PEOPLE THAILAND THAKSIN SHINAWATRA WORK OPPORTUNITIES WORLD SOCIAL FORUM

Vongsuksiri, R. (2007) Global Market Pressures and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study of Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers in Thailand

Title: Global Market Pressures and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study of Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers in Thailand

Author: Rojanayol Vongsuksiri

Year: 2007

Keywords: GLOBAL MARKET PRESSURES / CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY/ ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC INDUSTRY

Download PDF of Abstract: English Thai

Abstract:

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be seen as a critical element in supporting the sustainable development of Thailand, specifically within the scope of environmental protection and conservation. The objective of this thesis is to identify the driving force of CSR in Thailand through an analysis of the Electrical and Electronic (EE) sector, including the perspective and rationale of business owners in implementing CSR policies, and to determine what motivates their businesses in Thailand to practice CSR and the difficulties they encounter. Five large manufacturers with a minimum of seventy percent export of total production were selected for case studies. Three have prominent environmental management and CSR practices and two had ambiguous CSR practices.

The research found that each of the four key players. i.e. the Government, civil society, buyers and manufacturers influence CSR at different levels. At the international level, stringent government regulations mandate industries to operate with minimal impact on the environment. Social pressure from consumers demanding 'green' products oblige businesses to be socially and environmentally responsible. However, at regional and national levels there is relatively weak regulation enforcement by governments to put pressure on the private sector to implement CSR. Furthermore, Thai consumers appear to have little awareness of environmental problems and the role of purchasing power in creating social pressure for environmentally-friendly products. However, the existence of an economy that is export-driven means that many manufactures and businesses are inevitably subject to the rules and regulations of importing markets and international buyers. Amid increasing competition it is imperative to meet the requirements of customers and consumers. In sum, the research found that global market pressures from international markets are a main CSR driving force in Thailand. With the lack of domestic government support in certain cases, financial means to implement CSR policies and environmental management appears to be the main obstacle to their general adoption.

Contact MAIDS-Chula for more information and full thesis at maidschula@gmail.com

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BIOPOWER CERTIFICATE TRANSLATION TO MARKET ECONOMY COMMUNITY COUNTRY OWNERSHIP COUNTRY RECONSTRUCTURE CURRENT EDUCATION IN THE CAMP DEMOCRACY IN BURMA DEMOCRATIZATION DISCOURSE EDUCATION EUROPEAN UNION FTA WATCH GOOD GOVERNANCE HIGHER EDUCATION HOCHIMINH CITY HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE ISSURANCE OF BUSINESS REGISTRATION KAREN REFUGEES KHMER ROUGE MIGRATION MYANMAR NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT NGO OTOP PARTICIPATORY MANGROVE FORESTRY POLICY IMPLEMENTATION POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY PAPERS REINTEGRATION RESISTANCE SENSITIVE SERVICES SHADOW STATE POLITICS SMES SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL EVILS STREET-LEVEL BUREAUCRAT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TAK PROVINCE THAI-BURMA BORDER THAI-KAREN PEOPLE THAI FEMALE THAKSIN SHINAWATRA VIETNAM WORK OPPORTUNITIES WORLD BANK REFORMS WORLD SOCIAL FORUM