Relação entre Sustentabilidade e Inovação: uma análise da legitimidade organizacional das empresas do setor elétrico brasileiro

This research aimed to identify in companies in the electric sector listed in the Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) whether the innovation in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is used as a strategic item to legitimize its actions based on the Legitimacy Theory perspective. CSR places the company acting ethically and seeking economic efficiency, without excluding social and worker needs. The paper focused on the understanding of three innovation dimensions: incremental innovation, radical innovation and game-changing innovation, related to changes in processes, actions and business relationships. This research was delineated as descriptive and documental, based on secondary data analyzed from 2011 to 2016, totaling 9 chosen companies and 54 reports. Regarding incremental innovation, although it is disclosed, it is not clear whether such actions are presented as real CSR practices or if they only seek to legitimize organizations to their stakeholders. In the radical innovation issue, for example, there were changes in suppliers’ behavior regarding the integration of innovation in the analyzed companies. In game-changing innovation, despite some initiatives, most reports did not present consistent actions. It is concluded that there is still few information of the changes brought by technological and operational innovations, arising from new practices, procedures and behaviors. In addition, innovation as a strategy can be understood as a way of legitimizing CSR actions, being more focused on obligations imposed by regulatory boards. Therefore, there is a gap as to its object as a social characteristic.