The companies’ increased power also implies increased responsibility and new demands from the society and its inhabitants, and this responsibility of the corporations can be termed Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR. The core of the thesis concerns how a MNC can gain a competitive advantage through undertaking CSR in South East Asia. To operate in a prosperous way a company must gain recognition and acceptance, or in terms of the institutional network approach; legitimacy, from all its key stakeholders and the society in general, which is conducted through finding a harmony between the internal and external environments. The thesis consequently investigates the institutional settings of the internal and external environments of SKF Nilai in Malaysia, which functions as a case company, and the so-called matching strategies the company has used in order to harmonise the institutional settings. This paper further explores the implications and the actual benefits that evolve during the process of CSR, both at subsidiary and Group level.

In conclusion, certain requirements, both internally and externally, constitute the base on which the mother company and the subsidiaries rest. This foundation is necessary in order to develop the correct strategies for establishing and sustaining a competitive advantage through CSR, and includes supportive culture, competent management and supportive organisational structure.