This study investigates what drives the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in Brazil. It combines multiaspects of institutional forces and a multilevel analysis into one study to identify patterns of behaviour and leadership rationale. We use interviews to collect data from 16 top Brazilian corporations with good CSR reputations. Building on the institutional logics perspective, the study differentiates four CSR patterns of behaviour and identifies two leadership rationales behind those patterns: the reactionary and reputational self-oriented rationale and the responsible and collaborative system-oriented rationale. The “self-oriented” rationale is linked to leaderships with predominantly egotistic values and short-term thinking characteristics. Conversely, the “system-oriented” rationale is linked to leaderships with predominantly altruistic values and long-term thinking characteristics. These findings provide new insights into the sustainable development debate and help practitioners evaluate the appropriateness of their own CSR practices for the company's strategy and leadership rationale.