Studies on multi-stakeholder processes and cross-sector partnerships have demonstrated that multiple stakeholders across different sectors can resolve sustainable development issues when they combine their complementary resources and capacities. These studies have highlighted the role of multinational enterprises (MNEs), considering their requisite resources and capacities to implement intervention strategies. However, MNEs’ role remains largely underexplored in the context of non-state cultural regions where state governance is entirely lacking. Drawing on the findings of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the Golden Triangle region near Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos borders, this study investigates how multiple stakeholders’ collective interventions transformed the illicit drug-based economy of the region into an alternative sustainable economy. The region once supplied 60% of the illicit drugs distributed worldwide, yet a series of cross-sector interventions transformed the region into a sustainable economy over the past 60 years. The findings show that the foreign subsidiaries of MNEs proactively explored the unknown region and shared knowledge with other actors, which helped participating stakeholders effectively address regional sustainable development issues. The resulting process model sheds light on MNEs’ central roles at various stages of the multi-stakeholder process, offering new insights into informal institutions and intercultural studies in the field of international business.

对多利益相关者进程和跨部门伙伴关系的研究表明，不同部门的多个利益相关者结合互补的资源和能力，可以解决可持续发展问题。这些研究强调了跨国企业（MNE）的作用，考虑到它们实施干预战略所需的资源和能力。然而，在完全缺乏国家治理的非国家文化地区，跨国企业的作用在很大程度上仍未得到充分探索。本研究借鉴在泰国、缅甸和老挝边境附近的金三角地区进行的民族志实地调查的结果，调查了多个利益相关者的集体干预如何将该地区以非法毒品为基础的经济转变为替代性可持续经济。该地区曾经供应了全球 60% 的非法药物，但在过去 60 年里，一系列跨部门干预措施将该地区转变为可持续经济。研究结果表明，跨国公司的外国子公司主动探索未知区域并与其他参与者分享知识，这有助于参与的利益相关者有效解决区域可持续发展问题。由此产生的流程模型揭示了跨国企业在多利益相关者流程各个阶段的核心作用，为国际商业领域的非正式制度和跨文化研究提供了新的见解。