Identifying key notions of corporate responsibility : The perspectives of qualified Finnish corporate executives in Latin American countries and of Latin American employees living in Finland

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to study corporate social responsibility from the perspective of corporate leaders and employees in the context of Latin American countries. The main theories in this thesis are based on the work of Karl Polanyi, Esa Pohjanheimo, Jouko Kuisma, Teuvo Teivainen, Geert Hofstede, Ivan Kolstad, Eduard Freeman, and Milton Friedman. Various articles, corporate websites, courses, and events on corporate social responsibility are utilized in this research. The methodology of this thesis is semi-structured interviews carried out in person or by phone in English and Finnish. The corporate leaders are represented by three executive leaders who all have extensive living experience in various corporate, cultural, and geographical perspectives in several Latin American countries. The industries captured in this research are 1) the mining industry (Outokumpu) in Chile, 2) the paper and pulp (renewable materials) industries (Stora Enso) in Uruguay and Brazil, and 3) the forestry industry (Enso) in Brazil. The employee perspective is represented by three Venezuelan employees, three Bolivian employees, and one Honduran employee living and working in Finland across various Finnish companies. Seven common key notions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) are found in the interviews both of the executive leaders as well as the employees. Four of the key notions are mutual. The mutual CSR notions among the leadership figures and the employees include i) the experienced level of hierarchy and power distance between employees and supervisors, ii) the level (or lack of) of environmental CSR, iii) the experienced power of the state and the government, and iv) the level of corruption in Latin American countries. The top three shared CSR notions among the executive leaders are related to cultural similarities between Nordic and Latin American countries. All seven shared notions of CSR among the executive leadership figures include 1) similarities between the experienced levels of infrastructure among the Nordic and Latin American countries, 2) similarities in historical and cultural practices between the Nordic and Latin American countries, 3) CSR supporting the collective and individual rights of indigenous populations, 4) erosion of natural resources in Latin America, 5) benefits of local empowerment, 6) the power of the media in Latin American countries, and 7) the level of corruption in Latin American countries. The strongest CSR notions among the employees include 1) excellence of the Finnish healthcare and welfare system, 2) CSR as a profit-seeking activity, 4) differences in social benefits (pension, health insurance, taxation) between Latin America and Finland, 5) a lack of democracy and the power of the government in Latin American countries, 6) the level of corruption in Latin American countries, and 7) a lack of environmental CSR in Latin American countries. The results of the study can be applied from the perspectives of Bolivia and Venezuela from the employee side and from the perspectives of Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil from the executive leaders’ side. The results give us an understanding of the key dimensions of CSR aspects in these specific countries, limited by the roles and context of the interviews. Variance between the countries (and industries) among the executive leaders and the employees exist, but the results are combined into a regional study representing various Latin American countries or the Latin American (LAM) region as a whole