Impacts of adopting corporate social responsibility activities in the organizational structure: a study of german multinationals in Brazil

Abstract

This study is based on the following questions: what are the impacts of adopting CSR activities in a companyorganizational structure, as well as the decision making process in an international context, especially in Braziliancompanies with German capital? This survey was conducted on 76 German companies, operating in the transformationindustry in Brazil. Therefore the research was a descriptive theoretical-empirical study with a qualitative andquantitative approach to characterize the impacts of the adoption of CSR practices in the organizational structure ofcompanies. However, it presents quantitative data collection and analysis tools in order to map the largest possiblenumber of companies for the study, ensuring the standardization of responses and facilitating the understanding of CSRinsertion process in Brazil. It was also observed that in the coordination of CSR activities, the companies participatingin this study were in an embryonic stage of inserting CSR in their structures. Concerning the system of decision making,the Brazilian subsidiaries of German multinationals are considered as ‘active agents’ of CSR management in their localcontext. It is important to mention that CSR is relevant to these companies according to the profile of the CSR activitiesmanager and his or her position in the organizational structure. Therefore, this present study contributes to thediscussion of CSR as part of company strategy and not as specific and isolated actions that could be simply used aspromotional actions.