Publicação
The B corp certification : the case of the decertified B corps in Portugal
| Resumo: | B Corps are socially responsible corporations which have had voluntarily submitted to a third-party assessment in order to be certified. To obtain the B Corp certification, companies must meet a specific set of requirements demonstrating their positive contribution to the environment and the society. The B Corp movement is seen as a global movement that aims to transform the global economy by redefining success in business. As companies participating on the movement, compete not just to be the best in the world, but also the best for the world, using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems and shifting from profiting the few to benefiting all. However, even though the B Corp movement has been growing over the years, a quarter of the companies that were once certified have given up on certification. Thence, the present study focusses on the B Corp universe in Portugal and tries to understand why the Portuguese decertified B Corps have given up on being part of the movement. The methodology chosen for this research was a mixed-method approach using as a quantitative method an online survey that was shared with the certified and decertified companies in Portugal, and as a qualitative method, interviews which were made to the two groups of companies and to the B Lab’s Country Partner. It was found that Portuguese companies withdraw from the B certification due to benefits overestimation and costs underestimation as well as the capacity of achieving a social and environmental mission without the certification. |
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| Autores principais: | Carrajola, Francisca Soares dos Santos |
| Assunto: | Shareholder Capitalism Primacy Stakeholder Capitalism Primacy stakeholders’ empowerment B Corps decertified B Corpsl lapsed B Corps certification B Impact Assessment Portugal Capitalismo das partes interessadas capacitação das partes interessadas B Corps desistentes certificação |
| Ano: | 2022 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa |
| Resumo: | B Corps are socially responsible corporations which have had voluntarily submitted to a third-party assessment in order to be certified. To obtain the B Corp certification, companies must meet a specific set of requirements demonstrating their positive contribution to the environment and the society. The B Corp movement is seen as a global movement that aims to transform the global economy by redefining success in business. As companies participating on the movement, compete not just to be the best in the world, but also the best for the world, using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems and shifting from profiting the few to benefiting all. However, even though the B Corp movement has been growing over the years, a quarter of the companies that were once certified have given up on certification. Thence, the present study focusses on the B Corp universe in Portugal and tries to understand why the Portuguese decertified B Corps have given up on being part of the movement. The methodology chosen for this research was a mixed-method approach using as a quantitative method an online survey that was shared with the certified and decertified companies in Portugal, and as a qualitative method, interviews which were made to the two groups of companies and to the B Lab’s Country Partner. It was found that Portuguese companies withdraw from the B certification due to benefits overestimation and costs underestimation as well as the capacity of achieving a social and environmental mission without the certification. |
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