MNEs Institutional Entrepreneurship: The Effect on Corruption. An Analysis of Emerging Economies

This paper examines the impact MNEs exert on the corruption level of emerging economies. The research employs the institutional entrepreneurship theory. It is hypothesized that, in emerging economies, MNEs presence reduces the level of corruption. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that the faster the rate of increase of the number of MNEs in the country, the faster the increase of pervasive corruption level. The sample consists of seventeen emerging economies. The period of analysis extends from 2012 to 2019. The fix effect model has been applied to the panel dataset to test the model hypotheses. Results indicate that MNEs presence reduces the level of corruption in the said host emerging economies. On the contrary, the hypothesis that the higher the rate of increase of the number of MNEs in the host emerging economies, the higher the level of pervasive corruption in such economies is not supported.