Corporate social responsibility in Brazil : a comparative analysis of two paper companies

If being socially responsible can result in short or long-term economic benefits, then why do not all companies adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices? This thesis draws on general assumptions from illustrative examples of two paper companies in Brazil--Aracruz and Riocell-- to answer this question. The two examples suggest that stakeholder pressure, managers' perceptions of the economic benefits of CSR and managers' environmental and social values affect the decisions of companies to adopt corporate social responsibility. In addition, data from these two paper companies indicate that company size and economic and political context explain the variations of CSR practices between Aracruz and Riocell. This study argues that both companies have responded to pressures from stakeholders in different ways. As a result, their corporate social responsibility practices have been different. If the goals of companies are to demonstrate increased commitment to corporate social responsibility and to strengthen these practices, businesses need to focus on extending their actions beyond compliance, and incorporate corporate social responsibility as part of their policies.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Author dc:creator

• Nascimento, Ana Paula M. do, 1966-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Judith Layzer.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28800

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/28800