Corporate Responsibility Cluster Potential in a Rainforest Region: Autoparts Made of Natural Fibers in Brazil

Corporate Social Responsibility has become a significant issue, which affects Business Administration theories and practices. Innovative companies are interested in strategically implementing social responsibility, since responsible business practices may positively affect aspects, such as worker motivation and retaining, efficiency and productivity, process, company image and brand, among others. However, a critical gap still remains between responsible management and macroeffects on sustainable development. Corporate responsibility management is mostly reduced to voluntary initiatives of firms, low level compliance or an extra alternative to preserve the competitive advantages of a few multinational market leaders. Some researchers on cluster development have demonstrated that this might be a mechanism to generate linkages between responsible business practices and regional sustainability. Nevertheless, discussions about Corporate Responsibility Clusters have been normally limited to regions where there is already an industrial structure. This study proposes the potential of CRC to be verified in a non-industrialized region, more specifically, in a rainforest region.