Mobility and the politics of placeTensions and transactions between corporations and communities in the global economy

IMER presentation 29.11.2013

Tarje I. Wanvik, Dept. of Geography, University of Bergen

ContentMaster findings

Curiosity killed the career…

PhD research questions

Main hypotheses

Existing research

Theoretical base

Empirical base

Methodological base

Statoil health facility, Mamuju,

Sulawesi, Indonesia

Stakeholder management

Company

Oil and gas

regulator

National governme

nt

Local Governme

nt

Local Communit

y

CSR

Curiosity killed the career”I would say that CSR curbs inquiries of bribes or other forms of corrupt practices. We don’t bribe, but instead we want to create something that lasts”

(CEO Company B, interview 08.11.12).

“CSR ties our company to the local communities. And vice versa. We build common trust and tolerance of each other’s different roles and

responsibilities. It is like with friends: you have to get to know

them before you can do something together”

(CEO, Company B)

All fine…But how are the social investments received and perceived by the local communities?

PhD Research objectives

I will examine how Norwegian companies abroad and their expatriate personnel are received and perceived within the local communities they operate. Are they subject to territorialising forces, and if so, are they responding relevant to local expectations?

Second, I will explore the different mediating and mitigating activities employed by all parties following the encounters of such polarised realities, formulating three main hypotheses:

Main hypotheses

1. Corruption is a consequence of the lack of reciprocity between transnational companies, expatriates and the local community

2. Corporate Social Responsibility activities may curb expectations of corruption and other irregular resource transfers, and contribute to a more transparent and accountable reciprocity between companies, expatriates and communities.

3. Both companies and local communities develop strategies of attachment and detachment in the intersection of hyper mobile corporate activities and more place bound local communities.

Reciprocity mismatch

CompanyNational scale

Global scale

Local scale

Corru

ption

Reciprocity mismatch

CompanyNational scale

Global scale

Local scale

CSR

Existing research

Transnationalism and globalism:Labour migration (south-north, south-south)

Expats in gated communities (cultural shocks and adjustments, urban landscapes, management literature)

Technology-driven mobility (cyber societies, virtual mobilisation, networks)

The shrinking world of tourism

Missing: The dialogue between companies, expats and local communities – tensions and transactions caused by mobility and inequalities

Existing research

CSRProfitability studies for companies, triple bottom line

Motivational base

Missing:

Grounding effects of social investments

Reality checks of social investments on the ground

Strategic choices

Existing research

CorruptionEconomic costs for companies (management)

Structural explanations and causes (political science)

Morality and social exchange (anthropology)

MissingLinking frictions caused by mobility and inequalities, with corruption and social investments

Theoretical base

Geographies of globalisation: Dwelling

Spatial capital

Mobility

Assemblages: territorialisation and de-territorialisation

Grounding: attachment and detachment

Social investments, trust and knowledge

Socio-spatial tensions

Scales

Politics of place

(Heidegger, Stock, Levy, Cailly, Massey, De Landa, Cresswell, Tuan, Grimen, Agnew, Said, Amin)

Empirical base

Norwegian companies in Indonesia and Canada

Norwegian expatriate communities

Local communities; NGOs, local governments or authorities, CSOs and other interest groups

Methodological base

Case studies

Interviews

Document analysis

Achievements

What I hope to achieve is a broader understanding of

Corporate Social Responsibility and social investments

How corporations and expats are responding to local expectations

How social investments are effecting local communities

Finally, I want to examine if social investments have an impact on expectations of corruption and other irregular resource transfers from companies to communities.