Table 1.

Selected research on MNE-NGO partnerships in international business literature.

Study	Research aim	Theoretical approach	Type of study	Key findings
Teegen et al. (2004)(Journal of International Business Studies)	Discussing the role of NGOs as key actors in global value chains, emphasizing directions for future research in international business.	Civil society theory and International business streams of research (such as O.L.I. paradigm)	Conceptual	The authors identify three main areas of the impact of NGOs on international business literature. They highlight in particular the multinational scope of NGOs influences and how they may impact MNEs strategies and performance in various international contexts.
Reed and Reed (2009) (Journal of Business Ethics)	To create a taxonomy of the partnerships between a business partner (primarily MNE) with diverse stakeholders, one being NGOs in order to understand how they may enhance the development (different conceptualizations of development are considered)	Neo-liberal approach; Capability approach; Human face approach; Social power approach	Conceptual	The authors identify four categories of partnerships. The relationships between NGOs and MNEs characterize three of them. Main rationales for partnering (for example for developing codes of conduct in terms of CSR) as well as the influence of the partnership on the objectives of the company are identified.The focus is on the concept of development that each partnership may contribute to grant.The authors list some factors for the success of each type of partnership with NGOs (such as, company’s engagement, commitment, the role of resources, the role of public actors, etc.) but no specific considerations are provided.
Vachani et al. (2009) (International Business Review)	To evaluate the role that NGOs plays in terms of impact on the level of transaction costs of MNEs expanding abroad	Transaction cost economy (TSE)	Conceptual	The paper extent the use of TSE to the study of social activities of MNEs in foreign markets. It specifically advances the hypothesis that NGOs directly impact transaction costs. By taking into consideration the concept of “institutional distance” that occur among international markets the authors argue that NGOs may play a different role in developed vs developing markets.
Kourula (2010) (Journal of World Business)	To study the relations between MNE-NGO considering the role of the different international context in which they occur	Institutional/stakeholder theory	Empirical research based on a qualitative case study	The study highlights the role of the institutional context in shaping the relationship between MNE and NGO, highlighting differences in the engagement and strategies between host countries and the home country. The concept of “civil society distance” is proposed to measure these differences.
Dahan et al. (2010) (Long Range Planning)	How MNE-NGO partnerships may help the MNE to adapt its business model’s features when entering in developing countries due to knowledge scarcity about the market	Business model theory	Conceptual	Four building blocks for creating a successful BM in developing countries by MNEs.Two macro-categories of factors condition the success of the partnership for the development of the business model: internal (original mix of resources and fit of organizational culture) and external (comprehension of the characteristics of the developing market and relationships with other local partners) to the partnership.
Baur and Schmitz (2012) (Journal of Business Ethics)	To highlight how the adherence of NGOs to the aims of the MNE in partnership may reduce the credibility and the independence of the NGO and finally results in an unsuccessful partnership	Co-optation theory, CSR and NGO accountability	Conceptual	The article emphasizes the ways in which the co-optation process takes place between the two partners.The authors specifically highlight the need to adopt mechanisms that avoid NGO to follow a co-optation process in order to prevent ineffectiveness of the partnership.
Marano and Tashman (2012) (International Business Review)	The focus is on how MNE-NGO partnership may contribute to social legitimacy of the business partner at a global level, helping the company to face the challenge to be “social legitimate” in different international contexts	Legitimacy theory and neo-institutional theory	Conceptual	The authors propose a comprehensive model highlighting the impact of two main drivers (the institutional complexity and the complexity of the legitimation process) that guide the NGO selection methods (whether local or global), the type of activities in the partnership, as well as the performance in different international markets.
Current Study	To examine the underlying governance mechanism, the benefits and explore the dark side of fast fashion MNEs-NGOs partnerships	Loosely-coupling theory	Conceptual	Identifying key causes of loosely-coupled Fast Fashion MNEs-NGOs (casual indeterminacy; fragmented external environment; discrete internal environment).Identifying key benefits of loosely-coupled Fast Fashion MNEs-NGOs (Adaptability to environmental changes; Flexibility; Innovation; Firewalls for Separate Identity).Identifying key governance problems of the dark side (Power imbalance; Mistrust and opportunism; Misaligning goals).