The case presents CEMEX Mexico's situation in 2004, shortly after its social responsibility committee was created and became operational. Two distinctive stages in SR development are described. During the first stage, the company's SR approach was paternalistic and lacking in strategic meaning. The second stage started as a result of several organizational changes undertaken to streamline SR efforts and to incorporate them into the company's business strategy. This shift was initiated in the late 1990s, when CEMEX reviewed its contingency management processes and fueled the creation of its Social Responsibility Unit, the coordination of community relations and the establishment of its Communications and Social Responsibility Committees. Although social responsibility initiatives had begun to bear fruit, the company faced the challenge of integrating it into its culture. SR was a strategy known mainly to top management, but it was not explicitly embedded in training, recruiting, compensation or performance evaluation practices. This hindered its swift incorporation into the company's organizational culture. The case describes the organizational change process (in terms of strategy, structure and culture) that resulted from SR adoption and the managerial decisions geared at its internalization. There was little evidence to assess how deep this cultural change really was. A personnel survey had revealed that most employees were unaware of CEMEX's community-oriented initiatives. The SR Manager's goal was to turn this issue into a personal trait for both the company and its employees -i.e., to embed it in CEMEX Mexico's DNA. Yet, some members in the organization were still doubtful.

Describes the story of one of the first geographically focused foundations in Mexico, which was created by a group of international foundations (Rockefeller Foundation, International Youth Foundation, Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and Kellogg Foundation), and later joined by renowned businessmen and social leaders from Oaxaca, to respond to the social conflicts in the southern region of the country (i.e., Chiapas). FCO's experience offers an interesting view of cross-sector interactions between the business and social communities and of the strategic change from supporting rather isolated projects with limited interactions among actors to focusing on specific locations, explicitly promoting collaboration networks and social capital creation.

Takes place in Chihuahua, one of Mexico's largest and most industrialized states, located in the northeastern region of the country. Despite its relative prosperity, the state faced severe social drawbacks, both in rural and urban areas. Following a natural disaster in 1990, members of the private sector community came together to ask the government to approve an increase in the payroll tax (ISN) that companies paid, as well as the creation of a trust fund that would collect those resources and allocate them to city reconstruction efforts. Over the years, this initiative created by local businessmen to provide an emergency relief for a natural disaster developed into Fundacion del Empresariado Chihuahuense (FECHAC), a civil society organization (CSO) in charge of managing trust fund resources.

HEB, a family-owned Texan retailer, is the 12th largest supermarket chain in the United States. In expanding its operations into Mexico in 1997, the company transferred not only its products and services but also its social strategy of working with food banks. The Monterrey Food Bank (Banco de Alimentos de Monterrey), one of Caritas's social service programs, began in 1989 with the purpose of providing nutritional assistance to needy families regardless of religious affiliation. The collaboration of HEB with the Monterrey Food Bank enabled this operation to move from basic to world-class level in terms of new storage and handling facilities and administrative systems. The partners perceived significant benefits for each other and the community. Strong leadership and interpersonal relationships contributed to the development of a considerable mutual trust that has fostered a vigorous and growing partnership.