Title: Management in a Brazilian metal mechanic leading company: social and environmental perspectives

Authors: Eliana Andréa Severo; Julio Cesar Ferro De Guimarães; Augusto da Cunha Reis; Eric Charles Henri Dorion

Addresses: Doctorate's Program of Business Administration, PPGA/UCS, University of Caxias do Sul, UCS, Rua Francisco Getúlio Vargas, 1130 – Petrópolis, Caxias do Sul, 95070-560, Brazil ' Doctorate's Program of Business Administration, PPGA/UCS, University of Caxias do Sul, UCS, Rua Francisco Getúlio Vargas, 1130 – Petrópolis, Caxias do Sul, 95070-560, Brazil ' Doctorate's Program of Production Engineering, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, PUC-Rio, Rua Marquês de São Vicente, 225 – Gávea, Rio de Janeiro, Edifício da Amizade Ala Kennedy – 2º andar, Rio de Janeiro 22451-900, Brazil ' Doctorate's Program of Business Administration, PPGA/UCS, University of Caxias do Sul, UCS, Rua Francisco Getúlio Vargas, 1130 – Petrópolis, Caxias do Sul, 95070-560, Brazil

Abstract: The practices of social responsibility and environmental management are strategies that have become fundamental in helping enable competitive advantage for organisations today, as society is constantly pressuring companies to become more socially responsible. Environmental issues, in Brazil, are in the spotlight and this dimension has thus come to assume ever-greater importance for companies. This study aims to analyse the strategies of social responsibility and environmental management as practiced and developed by a group of eleven companies in the Metal Mechanic Poleat Serra Gaúcha. It presents a qualitative exploration in the form of a multiple case study whose results show that the external factor is perceived as extremely relevant to the group companies. Furthermore, the study shows that the strategies of social responsibility and environmental management encompass: peer pressure; the importance of government regulations, the adequacy of normative standards; heightened competition; and the achievement of competitive advantage.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility; CSR; environmental management; peer pressure; government regulations; normative standards; Brazil; metalworking industry; automobile industry; automotive engineering.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2013.059443

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2013 Vol.16 No.5/6, pp.404 - 419

Received: 06 Aug 2013
Accepted: 03 Sep 2013
Published online: 17 Sep 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article