Responding to institutional demands through corporate social responsibility: a case study of a Brazilian multinational in the paper and pulp industry.

• Ano de defesa: 2019
• Autor(a) principal: Leão, Pablo
• Orientador(a): Fleury, Maria Tereza Leme
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Palavras-chave em Português: Responsabilidade social corporativa; Instituições; Estratégia; Valor compartilhado; Multinacional
• Palavras-chave em Inglês: Corporate social responsibility; Institutions; Strategy; Shared value; Multinational
• Link de acesso: http://hdl.handle.net/10438/27168

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has increasingly been studied in different administration fields. However, the focus is mostly on why companies are adopting CSR practices rather than on how they are developing their CSR strategies. Although research in the field is still incipient, scholars have begun to fill this gap by investigating multinational enterprises (MNEs) that are integrating their CSR practices with their business strategies. These companies are adding value to their business while at the same time responding to institutional demands. Aiming to understand how these companies develop strategies in response to institutional demands, we conducted a single case study, analyzing a Brazilian multinational in the pulp sector. Our goal was to understand how a Brazilian multinational responds to social and environmental demands from its institutional environment. These aspects were analyzed through neo-institutional theory and the literature on CSR, which have allowed us to understand how a multinational develops strategies that respond to institutional demands while at the same time creating value for its business and for society. The results indicate that in the process of strategically responding to institutional demands, the company will prioritize those institutions that most impact and are impacted by the company. The company’s strategies are developed through a structure which is based on a solid organizational culture, the mapping and internalization of institutional demands and the integration of those demands with business strategies. Our data also suggest that such a system helps the company to innovate and to reduce costs and risks, thus increasing its competitive edge. The results of our research contribute to expanding the understanding of how a Brazilian multinational develops strategies to respond to institutional demands while at the same time contributing to CSR literature by empirically analyzing strategies that create shared value.