IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/envsyd/v43y2023i3d10.1007_s10669-022-09890-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Motivations for a sustainable ethos: evidence from the globally present Brazilian multinational Natura &Co

Author

Listed:
  • Marco Simões-Coelho

    (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro)

  • Ariane Roder Figueira

    (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro)

  • Eduardo Russo

    (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro)

Abstract

Driven by improvements in the understanding and the growing importance of sustainability engagement among individuals and companies, this study aims to analyze the sustainable development of a renowned Consumer Goods Company. Natura &Co is a Brazilian multinational that forms among the five largest global beauty corporations, owning four major brands—Avon, The Body Shop, Aesop, and Natura. This study used a case study methodology and had the objective of analyzing the strategies adopted by the company through time while engaging in the global sustainability agenda. It also covers a gap in the literature in analyzing Latin American multinationals. The company is assessed through a case summarized into a sustainability motivations framework of four quadrants, namely social insurance, market success, legitimacy, and process improvement. As one of the main findings, the case confirms literature indications of the evolution of sustainability motivations and strategies from simple compliance with the law and social rules into innovation and differentiation, which allowed the company to compete globally.

Suggested Citation

  • Marco Simões-Coelho & Ariane Roder Figueira & Eduardo Russo, 2023. "Motivations for a sustainable ethos: evidence from the globally present Brazilian multinational Natura &Co," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 321-336, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:envsyd:v:43:y:2023:i:3:d:10.1007_s10669-022-09890-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10669-022-09890-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10669-022-09890-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10669-022-09890-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rodrigo Lozano, 2015. "A Holistic Perspective on Corporate Sustainability Drivers," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(1), pages 32-44, January.
    2. ., 1998. "The concept of sustainable economic development," Chapters, in: The Economics of Environment and Development, chapter 1, pages 1-21, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Renata Isaac & Diego de Melo Conti & Carlos Nabil Ghobril & Luiz Fostinone Netto & Caludio Tucci Junior, 2017. "Sustainability and Competitive Advantage: A Study in a Brazilian Cosmetic Company," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(1), pages 96-106, January.
    4. Rupert J. Baumgartner, 2014. "Managing Corporate Sustainability and CSR: A Conceptual Framework Combining Values, Strategies and Instruments Contributing to Sustainable Development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(5), pages 258-271, September.
    5. Stellner, Christoph & Klein, Christian & Zwergel, Bernhard, 2015. "Corporate social responsibility and Eurozone corporate bonds: The moderating role of country sustainability," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 538-549.
    6. Mohamed Akli Achabou & Sihem Dekhili, 2016. "Why do French companies become green?," International Journal of Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 19(4), pages 342-364.
    7. Andreas Hoepner & Ioannis Oikonomou & Bert Scholtens & Michael Schröder, 2016. "The Effects of Corporate and Country Sustainability Characteristics on The Cost of Debt: An International Investigation," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1-2), pages 158-190, January.
    8. Sarah Elena Windolph & Dorli Harms & Stefan Schaltegger, 2014. "Motivations for Corporate Sustainability Management: Contrasting Survey Results and Implementation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(5), pages 272-285, September.
    9. Rose, Caspar & Thomsen, Steen, 2004. "The Impact of Corporate Reputation on Performance:: Some Danish Evidence," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 201-210, April.
    10. Brown, Dana L. & Vetterlein, Antje & Roemer-Mahler, Anne, 2010. "Theorizing Transnational Corporations as Social Actors: An Analysis of Corporate Motivations," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 1-37, April.
    11. Markus Beckmann & Stefan Hielscher & Ingo Pies, 2014. "Commitment Strategies for Sustainability: How Business Firms Can Transform Trade‐Offs Into Win–Win Outcomes," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 18-37, January.
    12. Delyse Springett & Timothy W. Luke, 2013. "Corporate Social Responsibility: An Uneasy Merger of Sustainability and Development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(2), pages 83-91, March.
    13. Yunhee Kim & Christian Brodhag & Desta Mebratu, 2014. "Corporate social responsibility driven innovation," Post-Print emse-01009999, HAL.
    14. Ivo Hristov & Antonio Chirico & Francesco Ranalli, 2022. "Corporate strategies oriented towards sustainable governance: advantages, managerial practices and main challenges," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(1), pages 75-97, March.
    15. Katherine Trebeck, 2008. "Exploring the responsiveness of companies: corporate social responsibility to stakeholders," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(3), pages 349-365, August.
    16. Smitha R. Nair & Mehmet Demirbag & Kamel Mellahi, 2015. "Reverse Knowledge Transfer from Overseas Acquisitions: A Survey of Indian MNEs," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 277-301, April.
    17. Xiao Zhang & Luqun Xie & Jiatao Li & Li Cheng, 2022. "“Outside in”: Global demand heterogeneity and dynamic capabilities of multinational enterprises," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(4), pages 709-722, June.
    18. Katherine Trebeck, 2008. "Exploring the responsiveness of companies: corporate social responsibility to stakeholders," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(3), pages 349-365, August.
    19. Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra & Mehmet Genc, 2008. "Transforming disadvantages into advantages: developing-country MNEs in the least developed countries," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(6), pages 957-979, September.
    20. Luc Fransen, 2013. "The Embeddedness of Responsible Business Practice: Exploring the Interaction Between National-Institutional Environments and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(2), pages 213-227, June.
    21. Stefan Schaltegger & Roger Burritt, 2018. "Business Cases and Corporate Engagement with Sustainability: Differentiating Ethical Motivations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 241-259, January.
    22. David Eberle & Guido Berens & Ting Li, 2013. "The Impact of Interactive Corporate Social Responsibility Communication on Corporate Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(4), pages 731-746, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Laura Broccardo & Elisa Truant & Adrian Zicari, 2019. "Internal corporate sustainability drivers: What evidence from family firms? A literature review and research agenda," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 1-18, January.
    2. Broccardo, Laura & Truant, Elisa & Dana, Léo-Paul, 2023. "The interlink between digitalization, sustainability, and performance: An Italian context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    3. Ludovic Cassely & Christophe Revelli & Sami Ben Larbi & Alain Lacroux, 2020. "Sustainable development drivers of companies: An international and multilevel analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2028-2043, September.
    4. Aisma Linda Kiesnere & Rupert J. Baumgartner, 2019. "Sustainability management emergence and integration on different management levels in smaller large‐sized companies in Austria," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1607-1626, November.
    5. Mª. Eugenia López‐Pérez & Iguácel Melero & F. Javier Sesé, 2017. "Does Specific CSR Training for Managers Impact Shareholder Value? Implications for Education in Sustainable Development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(5), pages 435-448, September.
    6. Iliana Loor Alcívar & Francisco González Santa Cruz & Nelly Moreira Mero & Amalia Hidalgo-Fernández, 2020. "Study of Corporate Sustainability Dimensions in the Cooperatives of Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-12, January.
    7. Fotis Kitsios & Maria Kamariotou & Michael A. Talias, 2020. "Corporate Sustainability Strategies and Decision Support Methods: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-21, January.
    8. Yu-Muo Lee & Jin-Li Hu, 2018. "Integrated Approaches for Business Sustainability: The Perspective of Corporate Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-20, July.
    9. Broccardo, Laura & Vola, Paola & Zicari, Adrian & Alshibani, Safiya Mukhtar, 2023. "Contingency-based analysis of the drivers and obstacles to a successful sustainable business model: Seeking the uncaptured value," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    10. Arouri, Mohamed & Gomes, Mathieu & Pukthuanthong, Kuntara, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility and M&A uncertainty," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 176-198.
    11. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    12. Laura Corazza & Simone Domenico Scagnelli & Chiara Mio, 2017. "Simulacra and Sustainability Disclosure: Analysis of the Interpretative Models of Creating Shared Value," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(5), pages 414-434, September.
    13. Stoian, Carmen & Mohr, Alex, 2016. "Outward foreign direct investment from emerging economies: escaping home country regulative voids," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 1124-1135.
    14. Li, WeiWei & Padmanabhan, Prasad & Huang, Chia-Hsing, 2024. "ESG and debt structure: Is the nature of this relationship nonlinear?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    15. Gilbert Kofi Adarkwah & Tine Petersen Malonæs, 2022. "Firm-specific advantages: a comprehensive review with a focus on emerging markets," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 539-585, June.
    16. Danilo Drago & Concetta Carnevale, 2020. "Do CSR Ratings Affect Loan Spreads? Evidence from European Syndicated Loan Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-30, September.
    17. Jennifer Adolph & Markus Beckmann, 2024. "Corporate sustainability strategy: From definitional ambiguity toward conceptual clarification," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 4708-4729, July.
    18. Iman Harymawan & Mohammad Nasih & Dian Agustia & Fajar Kristanto Gautama Putra & Hadrian Geri Djajadikerta, 2022. "Investment efficiency and environmental, social, and governance reporting: Perspective from corporate integration management," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1186-1202, September.
    19. Danilo Drago & Concetta Carnevale & Raffaele Gallo, 2019. "Do corporate social responsibility ratings affect credit default swap spreads?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(3), pages 644-652, May.
    20. Hiroaki Kambe & Masatoshi Tamamura, 2022. "Effects of firm-level ESG performance on creditworthiness in Japanese listed companies," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 465-489, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:envsyd:v:43:y:2023:i:3:d:10.1007_s10669-022-09890-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.