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Given the great upheaval in the international situation and the increasing operating risk in international business, research on corporate diplomacy is thriving. However, it still lacks clear conceptualization and operationalization. Based on social capital theory, our study conceptualizes corporate diplomacy as a three-dimensional construct and quantifies its distinct and combined impacts on multinational enterprises’ (MNE) subsidiary performance.

This research analyzes 134 responses collected from a questionnaire survey among key informants in Chinese MNEs using the regression method.

This research finds that corporate diplomacy is positively correlated with MNEs’ subsidiary performance. Specifically, compatriot-oriented diplomacy is the most effective, followed sequentially by host-partner-oriented and host-regulator-oriented diplomacy. In addition, compatriot-oriented diplomacy substitutes for host-partner-oriented diplomacy but complements host-regulator-oriented diplomacy in enhancing subsidiary performance.

Our research enriches the conceptualization and operationalization of corporate diplomacy and provides a nuanced view of its distinct and combined effects on MNEs’ subsidiary performance.

For corporate communications, it is crucial to know how news media outlets report and frame the sociopolitical activities of multinational corporations (MNCs), including their corporate diplomacy, that affect perceptions of their legitimacy. Therefore, this study aims to identify how local news media frame corporate diplomacy in a host country and, in turn, benefit the media legitimacy of MNCs.

To identify media frames in the host country, a quantitative content analysis involving factor and cluster analyses of 385 articles published in newspapers in the United Arab Emirates from 2014 to 2019 addressing the corporate diplomacy of large European MNCs operating in the country was conducted.

This study identified three media frames, two of which establish moral and pragmatic media legitimacy. Results suggest that media legitimacy grows when news media emphasise institutional relationships between MNCs and local, established organisations and corporate diplomacy's benefits for society.

Findings provide insights into how corporate communications can contribute to legitimacy building by emphasising corporations' relationships with institutional actors in host countries and the benefits of corporate activities for local communities.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study was the first in corporate communications to empirically investigate news media's role in corporate diplomacy and how media frames contribute to the media legitimacy of MNCs at the moral, pragmatic, regulative and cognitive levels.

A number of scholars including Benno Signitzer and Jacquie L'Etang have proposed public diplomacy as an alternative model to describe and/or inform the practices of public relations. However, international relations and political science scholars claim major differences between public diplomacy and PR, and few studies have sought to reconcile these claims and counter‐claims. The purpose of this paper is to report a comparative analysis of key concepts and principles of public diplomacy.

This article reports a comparative analysis of key concepts and principles of public diplomacy and the “new diplomacy” as described by Shaun Riordan and public relations (PR) as defined in Excellence theory and other contemporary models of PR to identify commonalties as well as divergences, and discusses how these can inform PR theory and practice.

This analysis shows similarities between these fields of practice, as well as six unique concepts and principles of public diplomacy and “new diplomacy” that inform corporate diplomacy and organisational diplomacy as an alternative paradigm to “public relations”.

Reconceptualising PR as corporate and organisational diplomacy involves much more than a name change. It recasts PR within alternative theoretical frameworks that are significantly different to those of dominant paradigms of PR and informs new and refined approaches to practice.

Adopting the concepts and principles of public diplomacy and “new diplomacy” also would provide a more ethical and societally‐orientated approach to PR.

Most studies comparing public diplomacy and PR have focussed on commonalities with a view to expanding PR's territorial claim or gaining validation of PR. This analysis takes the opposite approach, identifying concepts and principles of public diplomacy and “new diplomacy” that contribute to an alternative paradigm of PR that is more effective, more societally‐orientated, more ethical, and ultimately more publicly accepted.

Using political corporate social responsibility (PCSR) as a theoretical framework, this study aims to examine how multinational corporations (MNCs) can function as nonstate actors in public diplomacy efforts during the Russia–Ukraine war.

A thematic analysis using qualitative content analysis was conducted on 98 new releases from the websites of the top 50 MNCs listed in the Fortune Global 500.

The findings indicate that MNCs elucidate their initiatives aimed at providing a secure environment for war victims through their news releases, with notable variations in responses based on the companies' geographical location. MNCs also mentioned strengthening the power of public authorities by rebalancing power dynamics between governments and intergovernmental initiatives under war conditions.

This study is one of the first empirical investigations to research corporate diplomacy and explore the theoretical implications of PCSR for corporate diplomacy.

In this study, we explored the behaviour of two Canadian multinational companies operating in the context of Arab Spring events in Egypt in 2011.

We conducted a fine-grained analysis of 171 documents of various secondary sources to understand the behaviour of the two firms in Egypt between 25 January 2011 and 30 June 2012.

We suggest that corporate diplomacy should be viewed as portfolios of interdependent actions rather than reactions to discrete events. We also underline the importance for organisations to have a proactive, holistic and inclusive corporate diplomacy strategy, with the objective to secure and balance both explicit political/legal licence and implicit social licence.

We intentionally focused our empirical analysis on two Canadian firms operating in the same host country and belonging to the same industry. It would be useful to carry similar research in different organisational and institutional contexts.

This chapter examines the ethics and business diplomacy of legal tax avoidance by multinational enterprises (MNEs).

The methodology assembles the relevant literature and examines alternative interpretations of corporate tax strategy. Key topics include business ethics and responsibility, business sustainability, economic patriotism and corporate inversions, tax havens, and possible solutions.

The debate concerns whether legal tax avoidance is unethical and/or poor business diplomacy. There are three possible strategies for MNEs. One strategy is intentional tax avoidance. Another strategy is business–government negotiation concerning tax liability. Another strategy is business diplomacy aimed at maximizing the social legitimacy of the firm across multiple national tax jurisdictions.

The chapter assesses four possible solutions for corporate tax avoidance. One solution is voluntary tax payments beyond legal obligations whether out of a sense of ethics or a strategy of business diplomacy. A second solution is international tax cooperation and tax harmonization in ways that minimize opportunities for tax avoidance. A third solution is increased stakeholder pressure emphasizing business diplomacy and tax cooperation and harmonization. The fourth solution is negotiated tax liabilities between each business and each jurisdiction.

The chapter provides an original systematic survey of the key aspects of corporate international tax avoidance in an approach in which business ethics and business diplomacy are better integrated. The value of the chapter is that it provides information and assembles relevant literature concerning corporate international tax avoidance, and addresses possible solutions for this problem.

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are experiencing a number of major challenges in the international business arena. Can business diplomacy help them to deal with these challenges effectively? In this introductory chapter we conceptualize and identify the relationship between MNCs’ international business diplomatic activities and firm performance.

We conducted a literature review and interviews with five large MNCs that are operating in distinctive industries. Business diplomatic activities have been classified into three particular areas to support the analysis, namely: (1) MNC–Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) relations, (2) MNC–Host Government relations, and (3) MNC–Local Community relations.

The main findings suggest that international business diplomacy has a direct positive effect on firm performance with regard to so-called soft or nonfinancial indicators. These indicators include knowledge sharing, reputation, company image, and marketing possibilities. The effect can in turn lead to a better financial performance and market stance in the long run.

The results of this study are important for the future awareness and execution of business diplomacy in large MNCs.

This chapter applies the business diplomacy concept to Brazil, a leading emerging economy and a member of the BRICS group. Brazil’s emergence as a new economic power has facilitated the emergence of several large national champions whose international behavior is understudied.

The chapter presents an extensive review of secondary sources and selective use of previous survey data compiled by the author.

This chapter adds to the literature on business diplomacy and contributes empirical research on a leading emerging power. Brazil’s ambitious diplomatic agenda is matched by the country’s growing number of internationalized companies. Brazilian corporate managers need to increase their business diplomacy competency to effectively leverage their presence and legitimacy abroad.

Additional case studies will foster a more robust theory regarding business diplomacy of emerging economies.

A growing number of cases of business diplomacy in Brazil will benefit both business and diplomacy communities and facilitate greater research collaboration.

How Brazilian business diplomats navigate between the boundaries of international business, diplomacy, and foreign policy are important questions for a country concerned with its international role and its goal of becoming a key actor in the international arena. A better understanding of how business diplomacy works in Brazil together with more case studies will benefit a new generation of business leaders.

The behavior of Brazilian business elites in international affairs remains largely unexplored. This work’s original contribution is precisely in the form of its focus on Brazilian business diplomats and how business diplomacy is exercised by Brazilian companies.

This chapter focuses on the role played by both companies and universities on the dissemination of services and courses related to Business Diplomacy (BD). Special attention is given to the partnerships between companies and universities and to how BD is taught by universities around the world.

With an exploratory analysis technique, we have surveyed the websites of 22 companies and 20 universities and institutions, belonging to various countries, engaged in activities related to BD (i.e. services supply, courses at different stages of the academic curricula, workshops, seminars, training etc.).

The objective of the analysis was twofold: first, to give a better understanding of the concept of BD and of the various meanings associated with it; the results indicate that in both cases the practiced concept of BD is converging to the canonical set of diplomatic functions; second, to offer useful insights to practitioners in the field of BD by looking at the type of BD courses covered by the academic curricula of various universities and BD services offered by market companies.

This chapter presents a comprehensive analysis of the BD issue, going beyond its treatment as a mere auxiliary activity. It also offers a detailed overview of diplomacy’s main functions and adjuvant activities, with the purpose of advancing organisational charts’ structures inside companies, and academic syllabi offerings by universities.