Objective:

This article aims to analyze the corporate social responsibility and innovation initiatives of five Multinational Companies (MNCs) established in Mexico.

Methodology:

The methodology employed involved field visits in 2021 and 2022 to the areas where these MNCs implemented their projects, as well as the compilation of secondary sources. In addition, 21 qualitative interviews were conducted with individuals responsible for these initiatives, stakeholders, and beneficiaries. The data were systematized with Atlas.ti through the creation of codes and indexes to analyze the practices that distinguish corporate social responsibility from social innovation, the scaling processes, and their proximity conditions.

Results:

Results suggest that three initiatives fall under corporate social responsibility since they are not aligned with the MNCs business model, while one initiative fully falls within the scope of social innovation due to direct alignment; another one exhibits indirect alignment.

Limitations:

A limitation of the study is that only 5 MNCs were examined over a two year period, thus lacking a longitudinal approach that would allow corroborating the processes of evolution regarding social responsibility and innovation.

Findings:

The main finding is that corporate social innovation does not necessarily entail direct alignment with the MNC’s business model; It can also be indirect. Further, a responsibility initiative could evolve into social innovation.