This article discusses how societal expectations place greater responsibility on multinational enterprises (MNEs) to positively affect the countries they invest in. While previous studies primarily looked at the economic impacts of foreign direct investment (FDI), more recent research in international business (IB) has expanded its focus to include social and ecological effects. The authors suggest that IB research should comprehensively evaluate FDI's impact by considering a wide range of stakeholders beyond MNEs and challenging the assumption that economic benefits automatically translate into societal gains, thus requiring a more critical and multifaceted approach.