The impact of sanctions against Russia on Swedish MNEs’ strategies and performance: A responsible loss strategy
研究了2022年对俄制裁如何影响28家瑞典跨国公司的战略与绩效，发现企业普遍过度合规、自我制裁，并采用“负责任亏损”策略将子公司以近零价值出售给当地管理层，以平衡母国合规与东道国责任。
This article examines the impact of sanctions against Russia on the strategies and performance of 28 Swedish multinational enterprises (MNEs) engaged in foreign direct investments (FDIs) and/or trade with Russia. Drawing on 389 sources, including corporate regulatory disclosures and media articles covering the critical period from February 24 to November 30, 2022, we identify patterns of over-compliance with sanctions, self-sanctioning strategies, and deteriorating corporate governance. Swedish MNEs notably adopted a responsible loss strategy by divesting Russian subsidiaries to local management and business partners at near-zero value. We conceptualize responsible loss as an institution-based reconciliation mechanism that enables foreign subsidiaries to navigate institutional duality by balancing home-country compliance obligations with responsibilities to employees and partners in the host country. Our study advances the institution-based view (IBV) by showing how responsible loss enables MNEs to manage escalating institutional pressures while preserving local business continuity and future re-entry options.