Vale S.A. & Natura: an analysis of the transnationalization of two Brazilian corporations

• Grant number: 19/26020-4
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): June 01, 2021
• Effective date (End): May 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Other specific Sociologies
• Principal researcher: Ricardo Luiz Coltro Antunes
• Grantee: Thiago Trindade de Aguiar
• Home Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The project intends to investigate the formation of Brazil-based transnational corporations (TNCs) - a characteristic phenomenon of the emergence of global capitalism - and its effects on labor relations. It aims to, on the one hand, carry out an assessment of the literature on the theories of global capitalism and, on the other, to perform a comparative analysis of corporate strategy and labor relations in two Brazil-based TNCs (Vale S.A. and Natura). In doing so, it seeks to map the consequences, for workers, unions, capitalists and managers, of processes such as IPOs, mergers and acquisitions and restructuring processes. The research will, therefore, have a theoretical and an empirical aspect. These will be centered, respectively, on the theories of global capitalism and on previously conducted case studies performed separately in Brazil and Canada, which were inspired by the "extended case method" (Burawoy, 2014) - a methodology based on ethnographic research of global multi-situated processes. Furthermore, it is intended to conduct new interviews with business leaders, shareholders, union leaders and workers, seeking to frame recent processes such as the incorporation of Avon by Natura (2019) and its consequences for the organization of production and for the international strategies of both companies' unions. Finally, it is intended to conduct field research on Vale S.A.'s operations in Moatize (Mozambique), incorporating the analysis of the company's corporate strategy in that country to the research previously conducted in Brazil and Canada.