We investigate the relationship between the corporate social responsibility practices of
local domestic firms and their engagement with foreign markets using four waves of panel data
on a sample of more than 4,500 manufacturing firms from Viet Nam. We develop a measure of
corporate social responsibility that combines compliance with labour standards, management
commitment to corporate social responsibility, and community activities. We find a strong
relationship between engagement in international markets and the corporate social responsibility
activities of firms, with the exception of trade with China. Results suggest that firms in exportintensive
sectors engage in more corporate social responsibility activities, while those in sectors
with higher levels of imports engage in less.