Impacts of adopting corporate social responsibility activities in the organizational structure: a study of German multinationals in Brazil/Impactos da adocao de atividades de responsabilidade social corporativa na estrutura organizacional: estudo das multinacionais Alemas no Brasil/Impactos de la responsabilidad de las actividades de la adopción de las empresas en social

This study is based on the following questions: what are the impacts of adopting CSR activities in a company organizational structure, as well as the decision making process in an international context, especially in Brazilian companies with German capital? This survey was conducted on 76 German companies, operating in the transformation industry in Brazil. Therefore the research was a descriptive theoretical-empirical study with a qualitative and quantitative approach to characterize the impacts of the adoption of CSR practices in the organizational structure of companies. However, it presents quantitative data collection and analysis tools in order to map the largest possible number of companies for the study, ensuring the standardization of responses and facilitating the understanding of CSR insertion process in Brazil. It was also observed that in the coordination of CSR activities, the companies participating in this study were in an embryonic stage of inserting CSR in their structures. Concerning the system of decision making, the Brazilian subsidiaries of German multinationals are considered as 'active agents' of CSR management in their local context. It is important to mention that CSR is relevant to these companies according to the profile of the CSR activities manager and his or her position in the organizational structure. Therefore, this present study contributes to the discussion of CSR as part of company strategy and not as specific and isolated actions that could be simply used as promotional actions.