To understand why efforts to provide a positive impact sometimes fail to gain local trust, our research team conducted a six-year field study that was recentlypublishedin theJournal of International Business Studies.  In our research, we tracked the experiences of subsidiaries of 17 foreign multinationals across seven East African frontier markets (Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda). Our primary data came from interviews we conducted with a total of 853 people, plus extensive on-the-ground observation. We sought to understand how impact is viewed from a variety of perspectives, including those of expatriate and local employees of MNEs and NGOs, government officials, and members of the general public. Importantly, our research team was composed of both regional insiders with deep lived experience in East Africa and outsiders who have studied multinationals across contexts, helping us to see both sides of the tensions between firms and their host communities.