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Evolution toward environment sustainable behavior: search for survival in the plastic industry in Brazil

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Abstract

The main aim of this article is to identify how the pressures from the external environment, in relation to the adoption of practices for sustainability in the environmental dimension, interfere with the organizational routines of companies involved in the plastic transformation chain. This research used a qualitative method because we sought to understand the meaning of managerial decisions regarding the routines that make up an organizational structure. For this purpose, secondary sources of evidence were used, which provided information on the history, infrastructure and products of 107 companies associated with the Brazilian Association of the Plastic Industry (Abiplast). In addition, six individuals directly linked to the plastics industry were also interviewed in order to obtain more evidence about the changes in the routines of this industry. For the analysis of the data, the constant comparison method was used based on the coding technique to identify patterns of behavior. The qualitative data were analyzed using the Atlas.ti version 7 software. The results demonstrate that the routines can be categorized as isomorphic or evolutionary, which is the main contribution of this research. In addition, the type of routine adopted may be associated with the company being reactive or proactive in relation to the pressures from the external environment. Furthermore, we can also say that the activities involved in the creation of new routines for environment sustainability are linked to three actions: building an infrastructure for sustainability, managing a circular flow of resources and innovation for sustainability.

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Source: elaborated by authors based on data from search, 2017

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Source: elaborated by authors based on data from search, 2017

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Correspondence to Luciano Ferreira da Silva.

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da Silva, L.F., de Hoyos Guevara, A.J., Santibanez Gonzalez, E.D.R. et al. Evolution toward environment sustainable behavior: search for survival in the plastic industry in Brazil. Environ Dev Sustain 21, 1291–1320 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-018-0085-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-018-0085-3

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