Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has recently been the subject of increased attention, both in the academic and the corporate arena. In practice, corporations define their approach to CSR by using their own lenses which are influenced by factors at regional, national, industrial and corporate levels. This study aims to identify how the largest companies in the construction industry in Sweden, Thailand and Brazil present themselves in terms of CSR. The research was carried out through the analysis of organizational documents from these companies. The model proposed by Silberhorn and Warren (2007) was used for data collection purposes, including CSR Principles, Processes and Stakeholder Issues. Results suggest a predominant CSR value-driven approach, which might indicate that CSR has come a long way from its early roots of charity to become a strategic business practice inserted in corporate values. We observed a distinction between companies in each country analyzed. Swedish companies have a focus in the environmental perspective, Thai companies on an economic perspective through governance and accountability, while Brazilian companies focus on a social perspective.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); Construction industry; Sweden; Thailand; Brazil