LETTER TO THE EDITOR: “Corporate Social Responsibility in the Corporate Reputation of Mining Companies in Tacna, Peru”

• Autores: Mejía Rodriguez, Ulises Papillon, Saavedra Tupacyupanqui, Wilder Eddinson
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2026
• Institución: Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal
• Repositorio: Revistas - Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:ojs2.revistas.unfv.edu.pe:article/2054
• Enlace del recurso: https://revistas.unfv.edu.pe/RCV/article/view/2054
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:Dear Editor of the Cátedra Villareal Journal,Dear Editor, first of all, allow me to congratulate you on your journal, which is well-received by researchers both nationally and internationally. The reason for my letter is your article “Corporate Social Responsibility in the Corporate Reputation of Mining Companies in Tacna, Peru,” published in your latest issue. The objective of this letter is to bring to light the issues surrounding corporate social responsibility and the corporate reputation of the mining companies studied (Acuri et al., 2023). Today, social responsibility is paramount in the business context (As et al., 2024; Mansilla et al., 2022; Alboreda and Sison, 2020), and it is directly related to ethics within organizations (Bajo, 2017; Oduro et al., 2023). However, organizations represent a factor of social influence or change (Jamali and Mirshak, 2007; Castillo, 2024; Wu et al., 2020), with the fact that what a company does or fails to do significantly affects its environment, its staff, and especially its managers (Cenizo and Azcoza, 2023; Pino, 2021). In this sense, it is necessary to clarify that discretionary generosity or altruism has long been a tangible form of social responsibility (Cheong, 2011; Rangel, 2022; Faisal, 2019), but it must be clear that society needs a response from companies (Fernández de Mesquita et al., 2023; Fuller and Tian, ​​2006; Gati et al., 2019) that goes beyond mere acts of charity or philanthropy. but rather the application of commitments and principles by companies where business owners are truly committed (Page et al., 2021; Hernan and Badrunsyah, 2024; Peñaflor et al., 2020).While the study results show that the population of the Ilabaya and Palca districts exhibits a negative perception of corporate social responsibility, this is evident when examining the social dimension, which has an unfavorable impact on community engagement (91.5% low engagement), indicating a disconnect between the company and the community. When establishing the economic dimension, we observe that mining in this area of ​​the country does not generate visible benefits for the surveyed residents (85.1%). Regarding the environmental dimension, a low perception is evident (80.2%), reflecting insufficient environmental management by mining companies in Ilabaya and Palca in the department of Tacna. All of this undermines the corporate social responsibility of the mining sector in the study area. This highlights negative predispositions and trends among the population of Tacna. All of this demonstrates a lack of proactive management in reputation management (87.5%), coupled with a limited capacity to implement effective business strategies (Pinheiro et al., 2025; Perez et al., 2021; Zevallos et al., 2023).Oduro's study identified several corporate social responsibility initiatives within the mining sector (Oduro et al., 2023), which form part of their image strategies and represent genuine commitments to society, consistent with the findings of this study (Wu et al., 2020; Aguilar et al., 2025; Oduro et al., 2023). However, this study differs from the study conducted in Cajamarquilla, which revealed a positive relationship (Bajo, 2017; Zapata, 2022), indicating a favorable perception of mining companies by the community due to their participation and transparency (Tella and Danjbo, 2024; Zapata, 2022; Wu et al., 2020). An important aspect to mention is the theory of organizational legitimacy, which explains the alignment between the company's actions and the community's perspectives. In the case of mining companies in Tacna, these actions were insufficient (Acuti et al., 2023), which necessarily affects their reputation and social relations (Oduro et al., 2023; Jamali and Mirshak, 2007; Gatti et al., 2019). Regarding the ethical conduct and corporate integrity of the mining companies studied, they reflect a negative perception of business practices, radiating a lack of employee commitment reflected in irresponsible management (Castaño and Arias, 2021; Pino, 2021; Oduro et al., 2023; Jamali and Mirshak, 2007; Gatti et al., 2019). It is suggested that the mining companies in Ilabaya and Palca should implement corporate social responsibility in a systematic and comprehensive manner, adapting it to the needs of the local population (Castaño and Arias, 2021; Pino, 2021). In conclusion, while it is true that the study we analyzed reveals a negative perception of corporate social responsibility in the districts of Ilabaya and Palca, it can be observed that the mining companies have a low level of corporate values ​​(81.3%) and a deficient commitment to corporate behavior.