Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

The present paper approaches Corporate Social Responsibility through a case study concerning Cause Related Marketing, whose concept is defined by strategic partnerships between companies and social organizations. The enterprises invest on the social cause, promoting the corporate social responsibility, whereas the social organizations receive financial resources for their causes, and both gain visibility. Nowadays, it is quite common to find enterprises worldwide which include private social investment in their market strategies to add value and credibility to their brands. However, in Brazil few enterprises are aware of the possibility to use this tool of Cause Related Marketing (CRM). The scope of this study is to understand and clarify the kind of partnership between Alpargatas-Havaianas and Institute of Ecological Research-IPÊ, in Brazil, as well as identify the main challenges of the partnership developed by both. To reach this aim, bibliographic research was performed, followed by document analysis, partially structured in-depth interviews, besides direct observation in some stores. The partnership started in 2004 and showed to have well structured principles of CRM, concerning the alignment between the parties, formal partnership, social cause, donation mode and duration. It was observed that the sales people in the exclusive stores for Havaianas and IPÊ sandals can be more well trained, and communication on the partnership for the consumer can be strengthened. Cause Related Marketing showed to be an important tool for Corporate Social Responsibility.