From informal initiatives to formal strategies : the role of stakeholders in CSR strategy formation of a large media corporation in Brazil

The strategic importance attained by the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) over the past two decades has encouraged a greater understanding of the historical processes through which it has evolved and been consolidated in the corporate world. However, the role played by stakeholders such as managers, NGOs, governments, and corporate peers, in influencing CSR behaviour is a phenomenon that has not been fully explored. This thesis investigates the influence of stakeholders on the CSR strategy of a large Brazilian media corporation fictitiously named "Mediacom", from its early stages, when it was an informal initiative, to its highly formalised current design. The analysis presented here is drawn from three theoretical perspectives, which this author considers to be underestimated in the current literature on strategy emergence. They are: environmental analysis; stakeholder theory; and resource perspective. These perspectives provide a theoretical framework that offers an explanatory basis from which to understand the various facets involved in the CSR strategy formation over the period analysed, from 1960 to 2009.