Corporate social responsibility in a Brazilian mining company: “official” and divergent narratives

Purpose - This research paper seeks to explore two narratives identified in a project focusing on CSR in Brazil: the “official view” promoted by the company, and “divergent voices” that called into question the legitimacy of the official view. Design/methodology/approach - This takes the form of a qualitative design and interpretive approach. Semi‐structured, face‐to‐face interviews supplemented with corporate materials, web searches, informal conversations with external stakeholders, and non‐participant observation are also used. Findings - The study revealed that the official narrative emerging from the “corporate performances” organized by the key informant was consistently positive. The divergent narrative portrayed the company in a negative light, and was unveiled through web searches and further reflection in the post‐fieldwork period. Research limitations/implications - Data collection could have been carried out more systematically if the researcher had had greater control over the situation, especially with regard to recruitment of participants, which was done by the key informant. Originality/value - The study contributes to a better understanding of the concept of “CSR as organizational culture”, which has not been significantly explored in the literature. It addresses the scarcity of works on CSR in the Brazilian mining sector and stresses the importance of going beyond the official view when researching CSR cultures, to consider a diversity of perspectives.