Business Institutes and Corporate Social Responsibility in Brazil: Balancing Between Control and Incompleteness

Abstract

Objective: Provide a critical perspective on CSR in Brazil, focusing on business institutes' involvement with CSR, which could lead to an assimilation that adapts it to meet exclusively business interests. Theoretical Framework: A literature review focused on the main conceptual debate on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), emphasising the normative approach of Stakeholder Theory. Method: A qualitative analysis of the literature, data from public sources on civil society organisations, and the websites of leading business institutes involved with CSR in Brazil was chosen, comparing it to the information on institute websites. Results and Discussion: The leading institutes operate in a segmented and organised way, have large companies among their members, represent a significant volume of investments in the socio-environmental area and present their vision of corporate behaviour. This suggests a search for institutional leadership and reinforces the idea of consolidating CSR in Brazil through corporate resources. Research Implications: This research's practical and theoretical implications provide insights into how the results can influence business and academic studies about CSR. These implications could encompass business management, sociology, public policies, and project financing for all involved in thinking and practising business behaviour in society. Originality/Value: It contributes to the debate on CSR by demonstrating that its lack of consensus allows the business world, through its institutes, to shape it to its interests, limiting its potential reach. It is a critical perspective that suggests that business institutes create the conditions for discursive leadership that can lead to selective corporate responsibility practices in society.