Responsabilidade social corporativa: uma investigação sobre a percepção do consumidor

In the Brazilian scenario, companies have becoming more interested in assuming a corporate social responsibility attitude. The understanding of consumer behavior, including what he or she thinks about this subject and what kind of influence it has over his or her decisions, is very important for strategic marketing decisions. The objective of this exploratory study is to increase the level of understanding about Brazilian consumers´ reactions to corporate social responsibility attitude. A qualitative research was accomplished, and the chosen method was semi-structured interviews, in order allow us to have a thorough discussion on the subject with each consumer interviewed. The results suggest that consumers have a limited view about corporate social responsibility, selecting one or two aspects when trying to define the term. Mentioned aspects refer mostly to the solution of the country's basic problems, such as education and public health, and to firm's legal obligations, such as telling the truth to the public. The results about the influence of social responsibility on buying decisions show a dominance of negative information about the companies' attitude.