Fordlândia: Corporate Citizenship or Corporate Colonialism

Ralf Barkemeyer and Frank Figge ()

Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 2012, vol. 19, issue 2, 69-78

Abstract: This case focuses on the social dimension of a large‐scale plantation project of Ford Motors Company in Brazil. With its Fordlândia plantation, Henry Ford aimed to trigger an industrial revolution in the Amazon basin just like he had done in the United States two decades earlier. However, upon arrival, the company encountered unforeseen challenges linked to the attempted export of the Ford way of thinking and doing business – that had worked so well at home in Michigan – into the remote and underdeveloped Amazon basin. Yet, when failure became clear, the company decided to buy a new stretch of land nearby with the intent of reconsidering its way of doing business at the plantation. At its new operations, the company needed to better balance the trade‐off between its own core values and those of its local workforce. The case is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate management courses as well as a wider audience. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Date: 2012
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:corsem:v:19:y:2012:i:2:p:69-78

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