Organizations and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals

Abstract

PurposeThe objective of this study is to verify whether some of the largest companies in Brazil adopt management practices aligned with the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).Design/methodology/approachOverview information obtained from the web sites of six Brazilian multinational companies listed in the Forbes Global 2000 ranking was analyzed.FindingsThe major findings of this study indicate that the companies studied did not demonstrate clear knowledge of the MDGs, nor did they adopt practices aiming at meeting those goals. The evidences show that the companies adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, which are indirectly related to four MDGs. It was observed that the CSR practices tend to be developed based on a contingency perspective according to the characteristics and impacts of products offered by those companies. Therefore, there is a window of opportunity for those companies to begin developing programs in order to meet the MDGs aiming at new business opportunities, innovative CSR practices, and new ways to make CSR information evident and more organized.Originality/valueThe originality of this research lies in the fact that there is a dearth of literature on MDGs and companies in development countries.

Corporate social responsibility for poverty alleviation: An integrated research framework

“…The remaining studies that conducted content analysis of firms' reports placed emphasis on poverty alleviation in general as a reported CSR category (e.g., Bradley & Botchway, 2018;Jabbour, Neto, Freitas, Teixeira, & Silva, 2012;Metzger, Nunnenkamp, & Mahmoud, 2010;Renouard & Lado, 2012). The following indicators were also taken from three studies: CSR effort (Raimi et al, 2015), firms' community development expenditure (Ite, 2005), generation of income for local farmers (Waswa, Netondo, Maina, Naisiko, & Wangamati, 2009).…”

“…Novelli and Hellwig (2011), Okpara and Wynn (2012) and Schölmerich (2013) To guarantee equal pay for women, as many poor households have female heads Okpara and Wynn (2012) 4. External CSR initiatives: Universalist CSR in general: initiatives to reduce poverty at the community level 2012, Ragodoo (2009) and Renouard and Lado (2012) Donations and campaign against hunger and malnutrition Jabbour et al (2012) and Valor (2012) To reduce material deprivation Idemudia (2009) To provide assistance to private and public educational institutions Ite (2005), Idemudia (2007Idemudia ( , 2009 and Mutana et al (2013), Nguyen et al (2018), Novelli and Hellwig (2011) and Okpara and Wynn (2012) To provide assistance to clinics Idemudia (2009), Nguyen et al (2018) and Novelli and Hellwig (2011)…”

“…,Bradley and Botchway (2018),Gokulsing (2011),Ite (2005),Jabbour et al (2012),Kolk et al (2006),Metzger et al (2010),Nguyen et al (2018),Ragodoo (2009), Schölmerich(2013),Valor (2012) andWuttke and Vilks (2014) Firms-related newsGokulsing (2011),Idemudia (2009) andNguyen et al (2018) Documents and statistics reported by governments and international organisationsBarkemeyer (2011),Ite (2005),Kolk et al (2006),Lobel (2013),Nguyen et al (2018),Raimi et al (2015) andWaswa et al (2009) Previous researchBradley and Botchway (2018),Idemudia (2009),Lobel (2013),Nguyen et al …”

“…2013), firms adopt in-group CSR initiatives to alleviate poverty amongst employees and other internal stakeholders, and universalist CSR initiatives aim to reduce poverty at the community level Kolk et al (2006). found that internal initiatives, which address content issues (equality of opportunity and treatment, working conditions, collective bargaining), as compared to external initiatives, which focus on context issues (reflecting local conditions, dynamic comparative advantage, training, monitoring), are more often adoptedTA B L E 3 Types of pro-poor initiatives mentioned by empirical research on firms' contribution to poverty alleviation business-related initiativesTo provide low-income consumers with access to goods and servicesJabbour et al (2012), Okpara and Wynn…”