One key to CSR’s success has been its fuzzy definition, whereby its meaning is constantly (re)defined by practice and through the dialectical relationship between companies and their stakeholders. This thesis focuses upon the influence of MNOCs’ socio-political field upon their CSR (rather than upon specific CSR projects), from a critical realist perspective, contributing to existing research in three key ways. Firstly, I present original explanatory models that outline the practice of CSR in Colombia and Venezuela. From these models, I develop further models that categorise the types of CSR practiced in each country. I argue that Colombia follows a conventional model of private-led CSR; by contrast, the Venezuelan model pushes the boundaries of more traditional CSR definitions. Given the government’s dirigiste approach, I categorise the Venezuelan model as an example of a new form of CSR, that I call Regulated CSR (RCSR), noting the inherent contradictions of regulating to increase responsibility. Secondly, I produce original research on MNOCs’ CSR reports, examining how MNOCs’ agency is affected by global socio-political discourses. Paradoxically, whilst CSR is an important element of corporate communication, many MNOCs only disclose limited CSR-related information. Thirdly, this thesis contributes to the growing discussion of CSR’s role within the neoliberal paradigm. I argue that CSR is not and cannot be a panacea for social absences and can have negative social effects. Therefore, appropriate regulation is necessary, starting with greater corporate transparency at an international level to level-up MNOCs’ practices, and national oversight of MNOCs’ CSR budgets and practices.

One key to CSR’s success has been its fuzzy definition, whereby its meaning is constantly (re)defined by practice and through the dialectical relationship between companies and their stakeholders. This thesis focuses upon the influence of MNOCs’ socio-political field upon their CSR (rather than upon specific CSR projects), from a critical realist perspective, contributing to existing research in three key ways. Firstly, I present original explanatory models that outline the practice of CSR in Colombia and Venezuela. From these models, I develop further models that categorise the types of CSR practiced in each country. I argue that Colombia follows a conventional model of private-led CSR; by contrast, the Venezuelan model pushes the boundaries of more traditional CSR definitions. Given the government’s dirigiste approach, I categorise the Venezuelan model as an example of a new form of CSR, that I call Regulated CSR (RCSR), noting the inherent contradictions of regulating to increase responsibility. Secondly, I produce original research on MNOCs’ CSR reports, examining how MNOCs’ agency is affected by global socio-political discourses. Paradoxically, whilst CSR is an important element of corporate communication, many MNOCs only disclose limited CSR-related information. Thirdly, this thesis contributes to the growing discussion of CSR’s role within the neoliberal paradigm. I argue that CSR is not and cannot be a panacea for social absences and can have negative social effects. Therefore, appropriate regulation is necessary, starting with greater corporate transparency at an international level to level-up MNOCs’ practices, and national oversight of MNOCs’ CSR budgets and practices.

This study investigates the major factors that have restricted the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the oil sector in Libya. The study focuses on the period from 2000 to 2009. This period is significant since, during this time Libya witnessed dramatic foreign and economic policy changes. The research objectives are: (1) To identify the determinants of foreign direct investment into Libya’s oil industry for the period 2000-2009; (2) To reveal the obstacles and barriers which hinder FDI in Libya’s oil industry; (3) To determine the extent that the Libyan Government FDI policy influenced FDI in Libya’s oil industry. The rationale for this thesis was driven by filling an empirical void of FDI studies on the oil industry in Libya and by the intention of providing practical insights for current and future Libyan governments. This study comprises of an analysis of the 30 multinational (MNCs) oil companies that are operating in the Libyan oil industry through questionnaire and interview data from executives employed by those MNCs, as well as data from ten Libyan senior government officials involved in the Libyan oil industry and/or FDI policies. The research has provided support for several of the determinants of FDI flows traditionally found in the literature. The survey and time series analysis further reveals that access to Libya’s proven oil and gas reserves was the singular most important determinate for influencing the MNCs to undertake FDI. Furthermore, the findings identified that Libyan government foreign policy had some impact on the MNCs decision to undertake FDI. The research findings with regards to the role played by environmental risk as a determinate of FDI, demonstrate that there is no significant relationship between overall levels of environmental risk and a country‘s performance in attracting FDI. Also, this research has identified a number of factors that are causing obstacles and challenges to the attractiveness of Libya as a location for foreign investment. It has revealed that MNCs are significantly dissatisfied by the stability of the public institutions and the lack of effective regulations in Libya.

La Responsabilité Sociale des Entreprises (RSE) contemporaine au Nigériaest née de la crise des Ogonis dans les années 1990. Shell et d’autres compagniespétrolières, opérant dans le Delta du Niger, ont essayé de préserver leur réputation à lasuite de la crise, en se présentant comme des acteurs socialement sensibles. Depuis lors,la RSE est devenue une pratique et une politique courante dans les principaux secteurs del’activité économique nationale. Sa mise en oeuvre se traduit principalement par descontributions au développement local à travers la mise à disposition des infrastructuressocio-économiques de base. D'autres dimensions de la RSE ont été largement ignorées etrestent inappliquées. Pourtant, les entreprises, notamment les compagnies pétrolièresmultinationales, en reconnaissent d'autres aspects. Cette recherche examine donc lesraisons de cette disparité entre la conceptualisation et la mise en oeuvre de RSE dans lepays. Elle suggère que la RSE au Nigéria n’est pas seulement conditionnée par le cadrenormatif international et le contexte institutionnel local, mais aussi par les objectifs desacteurs impliqués. / The Ogoni crisis of the 1990s marked the debut of contemporary CorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR) in Nigeria. Shell and other oil companies operating in the NigerDelta tried to salvage their tarnished reputation in the wake of the crisis by presentingthemselves as socially responsive actors. Since then there has been a remarkableexpansion in CSR activities in the all key economic sectors of the country. These haveprincipally focused on contributing to local development through the provision of basicsocioeconomic infrastructures. Other dimensions of CSR have been largely ignored andremain unapplied. Yet enterprises, especially multinational oil companies, acknowledge thatthere are other aspects. This study examines the reasons for this disparity between theconceptualisation and the implementation of CSR in the country. This study suggests thatthe CSR is not only determined by contextual/institutional factors (local and international)but also by the objectives of actors involved.

En prenant l’exemple des entreprises pétrolières multinationales, cette thèse tente de clarifier l’état actuel du concept de responsabilité sociale des entreprises, qui, d’un point de vue juridique, relève du « soft law», et à dessiner la frontière entre le « hard law » et le « soft law», dans le but de mettre en lumière la différence entre les fonctions de ces deux types de droit et de dissiper les attentes irréalistes envers le concept de responsabilité sociale des entreprises. S’alignant avec cette logique, les contextes de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises ont d’abord été explorés, y compris l’évolution et les controverses autour de ce concept, ainsi que les instruments qui le sous-tendent et le mettent sur un pied solide, lesquels représentent certaines caractéristiques communes (diversité, flexibilité, inclusion des valeurs pionnières, etc.) pour être acceptés et engagés par les entreprises. Par ailleurs, a aussi été analysée la tendance au durcissement des règles nationales en cette matière, qui peut être constatée dans les pays développés et dans certains pays en développement. Puis, trois sujets, à savoir l’environnement, les droits de l’Homme et la lutte contre la corruption, ont été choisis et traités, pour, d’une part, exposer comment le « hard law » agit sur eux, ses faiblesses tant dans les pays en développement que dans les pays développés, et ses effets sur les performances réelles des entreprises pétrolières multinationales, et, d’autre part, déployer la contribution de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises sur ces thèmes. Enfin, les dynamiques de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises ont été recherchées. Certaines parties prenantes, comme les gouvernements, les investisseurs socialement responsables, les concurrents ou les ONG, ont un potentiel conséquent pour pousser les entreprises pétrolières multinationales à adopter une approche socialement responsable, tandis que certaines parties prenantes, comme les consommateurs responsables, restent un facteur faible pour la prise de décision de ces entreprises. / Examining the example of multinational oil companies, this article tries to make clear the actual situation of the concept of corporate social responsibility, which from legal perspective belongs to soft law, and to draw a line between hard law and soft law, aiming to highlight the difference in functions of these two laws and to dispel unrealistic expectations of corporate social responsibility. Along these lines, this article firstly explores the context of corporate social responsibility, including its evolution, controversies around it, and the underpinning instruments that put it on a solid footing. These instruments represent a couple of common characteristics (diversity, flexibility, inclusion of pioneer values, etc.) that make them accepted by companies as commitment. Furthermore, both developed countries and some developing countries have seen a trend to strengthen national-level rules in this area. Secondly, three subjects, i.e., environment, human rights and anti-corruption, are selected and analyzed to show how hard law functions, its weaknesses in both developing countries and developed ones, and its effects on the actual performance of multinational oil companies, and also to explore what contribution the corporate social responsibility can make. Finally, the dynamics of corporate social responsibility is discussed. Some stakeholders, such as government, socially responsible investors, competitors and NGOs, have great potential to push multinational oil companies to adopt a socially responsible approach, while some other stakeholders, such as responsible consumers, remain a weak factor in the decision-making of these companies.