Corporate social responsibility: impact of the Pescar Project on the community and a quantile regression approach

Creating social value has become a potential business strategy for companies, and can play a significant role in corporate performance (CP). This study aimed to analyze the transformative evolution in the professional and personal lives of participants in the Pescar Project at a leading multinational company in the sugar-energy sector, located in the interior of the state of São Paulo, and, in parallel, to approach the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and CP using quantile regression. This study followed the progress of a class in the Pescar Project in the mathematics discipline, through questionnaires applied from February 2021 to February 2022, with a one-year period between applications; at the same time, due to inconsistent findings from previous research and the limitations of least squares regressions, quantile regression was used to analyze the relationship between CSR and CP, to verify the impact on the business model of companies funding social projects. This regression was performed using data from 321 companies listed on the official Brazilian stock exchange. The young fishermen, as the project participants were called, showed profound transformations on a personal and professional level. In mathematics, student performance increased by 370%, and quantile regression showed that involvement in CSR activities had a positive impact on DC (Developmental Coefficient). Therefore, it was possible to conclude that CSR appeared to benefit companies, in addition to providing a positive change in the lives of the young participants in the social programs.