Corporate Social Responsibility Latin America: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda

Abstract

This research topic studies the main implications and approaches of social responsibility in Latin American companies, and becomes a topic of great importance due to the need of many organizations to transcend and differentiate themselves with their target audience, promoting inclusive and sustainable growth, managed by policies that promote welfare and development. The databases used for this systematic review were Dialnet, Scielo, Redalyc and Scopus, using information from 2012 to 2022; likewise, the method used was the search of empirical literature with the analysis of descriptive designs and quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches. On the other hand, the country with the highest number of studies on the subject was Mexico with 24%, followed by Colombia with 20%; likewise, descriptive and explanatory studies of quantitative type are addressed; and among the populations with the highest study implication are companies in the commercial and productive area. Finally, the objective of this study is to determine the factors that induce Latin American companies to apply corporate social responsibility; one such factor being environmental leadership, as the main finding, which seeks to maintain standards of image and acceptance in the market that differentiate it from the competition; the next factor is ethical labor actions, which ensure a fair internal system in relation to its stakeholders, who are the heart of the operation of its business; and finally, maintaining a successful corporate philanthropy, which strengthens human relations and creates awareness of respect and quality in the organizations. The contribution of this research will allow future research to know the repercussions of corporate social responsibility practices and how these factors influence the creation of a competitive image valued by the market.