All Quiet on the CSR–MNE Front? Revisiting Theoretical Inertia and Mapping Future Directions

This study examines the intellectual evolution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) research in the context of multinational enterprises (MNEs) over a 33-year period (1993–2025). Using a mixed-methods bibliometric approach—combining Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS) and Document Co-Citation Analysis (DCA)—it analyzes 760 peer-reviewed. articles and their 57,722 cited references retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. The results reveal a persistent theoretical path dependence in the field: institutional, stakeholder, and strategic perspectives remain dominant, while normative, critical, and multi-level approaches remain underexplored. We conceptualize this persistence as a form of canon path dependence, high- lighting how cumulative citation practices and editorial reinforcement stabilize certain paradigms and constrain theoretical renewal. The co-citation network reveals a stable intellectual core surrounded by peripheral but enduring clusters—such as cor- porate social performance (CSP) and political CSR. Building on this evidence, the paper proposes a future research agenda that encourages theoretical diversification (e.g., identity-based and political perspectives), methodological innovation, and stronger empirical linkages between CSR scholarship and global corporate practice. By foregrounding the notion of canon path depend- ence, this study not only interprets the structural inertia of CSR–MNE research but also identifies opportunities for conceptual reinvigoration and interdisciplinary convergence.