Corporate social responsibility and competitiveness: a study of Brazilian multinationals

Abstract

Paper aims: This study aims to analyze the relationship between the corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy and competitiveness, considering the moderating effect of the governance mode on CSR actions.Originality: This study sheds some light on a tendency towards the proactivity in terms of CSR of Brazilian Multinationals. They also present collaborative governance mode more frequently to conduct CSR actions. Research method:In order to reach the research objective, a survey research was carried out in 144 Brazilian Multinationals and SmartPLS was used to conduct partial least square-structural equation modeling analysis. Main findings:The results indicated that there is a positive relationship between CSR and competitiveness. Regarding the CSR governance mode, the adoption of different governance modes depending on the characteristics of the CSR action developed.Implications for theory and practice: This paper contributes to the literature, since Latin America, especially Brazil, still lacks research that analyzes their CSR practices and establishes relationships with other organizational objectives, such as competitiveness.