Through Thick and Thin? How Self-determination Drives the Corporate Sustainability Initiatives of Multinational Subsidiaries Kalim U. Shah 1 * and Surendra Arjoon 2 1 School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Northwest, USA 2 Department of Management Studies/Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago ABSTRACT Multinational corporation (MNC) subsidiaries implement corporate sustainability initiatives (CSIs) if they are self-determined to do so (based on intrinsic motivation) or when urged on by circumstances and pressures (based on extrinsic motivation). Such differences in self- determination are derived from underlying corporate psychological needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness, and are manifested in the governance choices of making, allying or buying CSIs. In this study of oil and gas MNC subsidiaries in the developing country con- text of Trinidad and Tobago, four distinct types of firm are identified based on their levels of self-determination and corporate governance tendencies. These groups are identified as trail blazers, marching soldiers, sharp shooters and fire fighters, and their distinctive characteristics are described. These findings are useful to corporate sustainability strategists seeking to se- lect, design and implement CSIs that satisfy MNC headquarter directives but balance subsid- iary objectives of maintaining good relations and access to operate in developing countries. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Received 4 November 2012; revised 4 November 2013; accepted 8 November 2013 Keywords: corporate social responsibility; corporate governance choices; corporate sustainability; developing countries; energy sector; multinational subsidiaries; self-determination theory Corporate Sustainability C ORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY (CS) IS NOW A LEGITIMATE BUSINESS CONCERN FOR MOST MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS (MNCs) across the globe (Orlitzky et al., 2003; Walsh et al., 2003). By 2005, some 68% of Fortune 250 firms were publishing CS reports or variations such as corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmen- tal or health and safety reports (KPMG, 2005). CS may be defined as ’the adoption of business strategies and activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its stakeholders today while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future’ (IISD, 1992). The exact interpretation often varies, and the term is sometimes interchanged with CSR or broadened to include economic, social and environmental needs (Montiel, 2008). Stemming from Brundtland’s original framing of sustainable development, *Correspondence to: Kalim U. Shah, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Northwest, USA. E-mail: kalshah@iun.edu Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Business Strategy and the Environment Bus. Strat. Env. (2014) Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/bse.1838