CSR engagement, firm-specific advantages, and entry modes across MNC-country pairs

This dataset documents CSR engagement by MNCs operating in countries with average-to-weak sustainability-related institutional environments. It includes 73 MNC-country pairs covering 12 sustainability-leading renewable energy MNCs across 14 host countries. Each observation records qualitative evidence drawn from publicly available corporate sources (sustainability reports, annual reports, official communications) and theory-guided coding of: (1) sustainability-related firm-specific advantages (location-bound vs. non-location-bound), (2) entry-mode depth (light, intermediate, deep), and (3) level of CSR engagement (low, moderate, high). Host-country sustainability conditions are captured using the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index.The dataset supports pattern-based analysis of CSR engagement across heterogeneous institutional contexts and underpins the empirical analysis in “Voyagers or drifters? How MNCs scale (or fail to scale) global CSR across institutional contexts.”