Going South: a story of sustainability ideas translated to Brazil

Purpose The purpose of this case study is to illustrate a case of adaptation of global social responsibility models in Brazil and their subsequent influence in other countries. Design/methodology/approach This case study is based on publicly accessible written sources and a collection of interviews. Findings Global corporate social responsibility models were adapted to the local circumstances of Brazil by a careful process of discernment, attempts and iterations called reduction. Eventually, these adapted models were emulated in other Latin American countries while having some influence on an international stage. Research limitations/implications This study illustrates how global management ideas can be adapted to a country in the South by means of a reduction process. As a case study based on a single, unique situation, further studies in other geographies and contexts would help to further understand this reduction process. New studies would also need to address the upcoming changes in sustainability guidelines – for instance, those currently coming from the European Union. Practical implications This study illustrates how global management ideas can be adapted to a country in the South by means of a reduction process. Originality/value This paper enriches our comprehension of how management ideas travel, showing that they do not travel only from the North to the South, but that they can also travel to other countries in the South and eventually influence the transnational space. This paper uses a theoretical model proposed by Alberto Guerreiro Ramos (AGR) (1915–1982) as a suitable explanation for the studied case.