Fixing “bad” capitalism: why CSR and pro-good initiatives may not be enough

Design/methodology/approach: The proliferation of negative business conducts has led international business scholars to propose new ways to address sustainability grand challenges. The articles in this special issue on which we were invited to comment, Holmström Lind, Kang, Ljung and Forsgren; Lashitew and van Tulder; Zagelmeyer, are contributing to this agenda. We contextualise these articles in the current scholarly discussion on the social role of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs).

Findings: Despite all the calls for business to be more responsible and despite the steps taken by MNEs through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies, this is not enough to address contemporary grand challenges with any degree of seriousness.

Originality/value: We invite further research to propose new attempts to fix ‘bad’ capitalism that also involve a rethinking of the way companies reward corporate elites and redistribute their gains.