Social Responsibility as a Competitive
Advantage for Companies:
A Sustainability Research in Paraná’s
Cooperatives in Brazil
Manoela Maria Caron Moura and Ubiratã Tortato
1 Introduction
Currently the corporate world has a fundamental role in ensuring the preservation of
the environment and in defining the quality of life of communities and their employees
(Alves et al. 2010), because, in addition to contributing to nature and communities,
corporate sustainability is a channel for consumer awareness (Wappa 2016).
It is noteworthy that companies are perceived as differentiated by their customers
when they invest in quality, but also develop projects that minimize environmental
impacts and raise the quality of life of surrounding communities (Consultoria Iso
2018). According to Mello and Mello (2017), there is a frequent pressure for greater
transparency in business, so social responsibility emerges as a more disciplined
attitude of companies in their actions. This responsibility becomes indispensable in
the current scenario, since the strategic decisions of large companies involve both
economic and social consequences, as they are interconnected (Pessoa et al. 2009).
In this sense, it is important to highlight the role of companies in the social responsibility area. According to Porter and Kramer (2006), there is an interdependence
between companies and society, since practically all activities in a company’s value
chain affect the communities in which the company operates, which can have positive or negative consequences. Because of this, organizations need to be aware not
only of their economic and legal responsibilities, but also of their ethical, moral and
social responsibilities (Veloso 2006).
Regarding the adequacy of companies to these social responsibility actions, it can
be observed that a company can be socially responsible in several ways, regarding
M. M. C. Moura (B) · U. Tortato
Pontifícia Universidade Católica Do Paraná-PUCPR, Curitiba, PR 80215-901, Brazil
e-mail: manoelacaron@gmail.com
U. Tortato
e-mail: ubirata.tortato@pucpr.br
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Integrating Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development,
World Sustainability Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59975-1_8
123
Advantage for Companies:
A Sustainability Research in Paraná’s
Cooperatives in Brazil
Manoela Maria Caron Moura and Ubiratã Tortato
1 Introduction
Currently the corporate world has a fundamental role in ensuring the preservation of
the environment and in defining the quality of life of communities and their employees
(Alves et al. 2010), because, in addition to contributing to nature and communities,
corporate sustainability is a channel for consumer awareness (Wappa 2016).
It is noteworthy that companies are perceived as differentiated by their customers
when they invest in quality, but also develop projects that minimize environmental
impacts and raise the quality of life of surrounding communities (Consultoria Iso
2018). According to Mello and Mello (2017), there is a frequent pressure for greater
transparency in business, so social responsibility emerges as a more disciplined
attitude of companies in their actions. This responsibility becomes indispensable in
the current scenario, since the strategic decisions of large companies involve both
economic and social consequences, as they are interconnected (Pessoa et al. 2009).
In this sense, it is important to highlight the role of companies in the social responsibility area. According to Porter and Kramer (2006), there is an interdependence
between companies and society, since practically all activities in a company’s value
chain affect the communities in which the company operates, which can have positive or negative consequences. Because of this, organizations need to be aware not
only of their economic and legal responsibilities, but also of their ethical, moral and
social responsibilities (Veloso 2006).
Regarding the adequacy of companies to these social responsibility actions, it can
be observed that a company can be socially responsible in several ways, regarding
M. M. C. Moura (B) · U. Tortato
Pontifícia Universidade Católica Do Paraná-PUCPR, Curitiba, PR 80215-901, Brazil
e-mail: manoelacaron@gmail.com
U. Tortato
e-mail: ubirata.tortato@pucpr.br
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Integrating Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development,
World Sustainability Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59975-1_8
123