Institutional dynamics and organizations affecting the adoption of sustainable development in the United Kingdom and Brazil

Abstract

This paper provides an exploratory comparative assessment of the institutional pressures influencing corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a developed country, UK, vs. a developing country, Brazil, based on a survey of different actors. Information on sustainability concerns, organizational strategies and mechanisms of pressure was collected through interviews with environmental regulatory agencies, financial institutions, media and non-governmental organizations. Our results confirm that the more advanced awareness and CSR responsiveness in the UK is a consequence of a predominance of coercive and normative forces on the organizational field. The institutional forces tend to build a Brazilian organizational field that is relational based and risk intensive. The findings lend support to the view that CSR responses are unlikely to be easily transformed into uniform standardized practices across the globe. This paper contributes to a collective understanding of the organizational field and a common template for CSR in the context of developed and developing countries.bs_bs_banner

Stakeholder Theory As an Ethical Approach to Effective Management: applying the theory to multiple contexts

“…Some of these contributions may come from overcoming the gridlock of traditional thinking, as well as the institutions that cause organizations to conform to widely held norms (Abreu, Cunha & Barlow, 2015;Matten & Moon, 2008). As we have travelled the world, we have noticed that a lot of the management techniques firms use within particular countries are a result of tradition in those countries.…”

In search of the right fusion recipe: the role of legitimacy in building a social enterprise model

“…According to institutional theory, these tensions and conflicts occur because social enterprises are embedded in a 'plural' environment in which different stakeholders have different beliefs and hold different expectations from them (e.g. Abreu et al 2015;Egels-Zand en et al 2015;Nurunnabi 2015). As a result, they have to manage these conflicts caused by pluralism to gain 'legitimacy' in order to obtain stakeholder support and resources to ensure their survival.…”

Tensions between politico‐institutional factors and accounting regulation in a developing economy: insights from institutional theory

“…; Campbell , ; Jamali & Mirshak ; Irvine ; Jamali ; Dolan & Rajak ; Jamali & Neville ; Siltaoja & Onkila ; Blowfield & Dolan ; Buzan & Lawson ; Abreu et al . ). DiMaggio & Powell () stress the socially responsible behavior of corporations, by which institutional theory provides the logic of implementation according to national and international rules and practices.…”