Theory of identity: the study of the existence of similar socio-environmental actions in the Brazilian electricity sector

Alita de Oliveira Arantes,Fátima de Souza Freire,Eric Adrian Mattos Barreto Junior

doi:10.15728/bbr.2013.10.2.3

Abstract

According to the theory of identity, an identity means to recognize the group internal similarities and its differences with others. The theme of identity and the analysis of socio-environmental actions are justified by the need to issue corporate sustainability policies that the world requires for the development of society. This study aims to analyze the existence of groups from their identities and whether companies belonging to a particular group tend to perform similar socio-environmental actions. The groups were defined as financial and socio-environmental financial, by focusing on what each company portrayed in its mission, vision and values. The environmental programs and projects were attained in the sustainability reports from companies that follow the GRI guidelines. It was found that companies belonging to the same identity group tend to perform the same types of socio-environmental actions and that projects and actions in culture and sport and health are very similar; however the focus of the actions of each group is different for other indicators.

Highlights

According to the theory of identity, an identity means to recognize the group internal similarities and its differences with others
The question is: Do firms belonging to a particular identity group tend to perform similar socio-environmental actions? This study aims to analyze the existence of groups of organizational identities, as well as to verify if the companies belonging to a particular group tend to perform similar socio-environmental actions
The socio-financial group, compared to their environmental actions, has a resemblance, as graph 2 shows that most environmental projects from companies in this group are geared primarily to investments related to their area of operation, with 118 from 132 (89.39%) of the actions on the environment, a percentage very close to that shown by the financial group

Summary

Introduction

According to the theory of identity, an identity means to recognize the group internal similarities and its differences with others. It was found that companies belonging to the same identity group tend to perform the same types of socio-environmental actions and that projects and actions in culture and sport and health are very similar; the focus of the actions of each group is different for other indicators. The valuation of sustainable consciousness and the charge for the disclosure of CSR through Sustainability Reports and other reports arise, resulting in the adoption of policies and guidelines for corporate socio-environmental management. In this case, according to Ribeiro and Lisboa (1999), Accountancy has the tools to help identify and disclose the level of social responsibility of economic agents. The intensity of its power is directly due to its organization or identification as a group (TINOCO, 2001)

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