Understanding how firms implemented shared value strategy: a Brazilian business context

PurposeThis paper aims to identify how companies implemented shared value strategies to reconcile profitability and social-environmental welfare and explain through an interactive methodology the main elements and their relationships that compose a shared value creation system.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the interactive qualitative analysis (IQA) method to conduct a qualitative study in the sustainability field of investigation. Participants are both data sources and analysts which brings a different perspective to data analysis. Results emerged from the interaction between the researchers and the participants. The method mixes qualitative and quantitative protocols to bring robustness to the research.FindingsRelevant findings are (1) a shared value creation system is composed of nine elements which are business results, social-environmental results, ecosystem, impact, materiality matrix, profitability, purpose-driven leadership, social-environmental welfare and sustainable economic development; (2) the system's primary driver is purpose-driven leadership; (3) The use of renewable materials and the reduction in the use of natural resources in the value chain are the main criteria companies employed to meet business and societal objectives simultaneously; (4) the IQA method enabled the consolidation of a Shared Value Creation System Diagram which other scientists may use to replicate the study.Research limitations/implicationsThe research investigated a specific country context. Other researchers may use the shared value system diagram to replicate the study with companies in other countries.Practical implicationsFindings show that the knowledge about shared value creation system elements and their cause-effect relationships guides business leaders in developing strategic objectives to reconcile profitability and social-environmental welfare. This is essential knowledge, especially in a context in which companies are increasingly required to assume their social and environmental responsibilities. Besides, a management challenge in the stakeholder-oriented approach is still how strategies can be implemented.Originality/valueThe research design is innovative in using the IQA method in the sustainability field of investigation. The method procedures and protocols allowed for a deeper understanding of the subject, revealing its richness and its potential for replicability in other contexts.