Search Advanced

AIMS Environmental Science

2020, Volume 7, Issue 6: 542-558. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2020034
Previous Article Next Article
Research article Special Issues

Corporate social responsibility in agri-food firms: the relationship between CSR actions and firm's performance

  • 1.
    School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
  • 2.
    PhD in Environmental and agri-food economics, Naples, Italy
  • Received: 28 August 2020 Accepted: 24 November 2020 Published: 16 December 2020

  • Over the last years, many firms introduced environmental and social sustainability in their business mission and adopted Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as the operative tool of a new business model. Several studies focused on the relationship between CSR and firm’s performance or more generally value creation in the supply chain. The present work aims at giving further insight into this relationship with reference to the agri-food sector. It wants to illustrate a conceptual framework of this relationship and represents a preliminary empirical work aimed at understanding and testing some main link. Through multivariate techniques data on CSR actions were analysed to identify the firm CSR strategies and using the correlation analysis and non-parametric tests the link between CSR strategies and firm performance was tested, both directly and through innovation variables. Results highlighted that firms with lower CSR orientation have also lower profitability levels and showed the association between the adoption of specific innovations and some CSR patterns, while the connection innovation-performance was not statistically proved. The small size of the sample does not allow a conclusive analysis. Nevertheless, results provide useful insights to better specify the conceptual model CSR-performance.

    Citation: Adele Coppola, Sara Ianuario, Severino Romano, Mauro Viccaro. Corporate social responsibility in agri-food firms: the relationship between CSR actions and firm's performance[J]. AIMS Environmental Science, 2020, 7(6): 542-558. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2020034

    Related Papers:

  • Over the last years, many firms introduced environmental and social sustainability in their business mission and adopted Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as the operative tool of a new business model. Several studies focused on the relationship between CSR and firm’s performance or more generally value creation in the supply chain. The present work aims at giving further insight into this relationship with reference to the agri-food sector. It wants to illustrate a conceptual framework of this relationship and represents a preliminary empirical work aimed at understanding and testing some main link. Through multivariate techniques data on CSR actions were analysed to identify the firm CSR strategies and using the correlation analysis and non-parametric tests the link between CSR strategies and firm performance was tested, both directly and through innovation variables. Results highlighted that firms with lower CSR orientation have also lower profitability levels and showed the association between the adoption of specific innovations and some CSR patterns, while the connection innovation-performance was not statistically proved. The small size of the sample does not allow a conclusive analysis. Nevertheless, results provide useful insights to better specify the conceptual model CSR-performance.


    加载中


    [1] Jenkins H (2009) A business opportunity model of corporate social responsibility for small-and medium-sized enterprises. Business Ethics: A Eur Rev 18: 21–36.
    [2] Vogel D (2006) The market for virtue. The potential and limits of Corporate Social Responsibility, Washington D.C: Brooking Institution Press.
    [3] Van Marrewijk M (2003) Concepts and Definitions of CSR and Corporate Sustainability: Between Agency and Communion. J Bus Ethics 44: 95–105.
    [4] Dahlsrud A (2008) How Corporate Social Responsibility is Defined: an Analysis of 37 Definitions. Corp Soc Responsib Environ Manag 15: 1–13.
    [5] Heyder M, Theuvsen L (2009) Corporate Social Responsibility in Agribusiness: Empirical Findings from Germany. Paper presented at the 113th EAAE Seminar A resilient European food industry and food chain in a challenging world, Chania, Crete, Greece, September 3–6.
    [6] Carroll AB (1979) A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance. Acad Manage Rev 4: 497–505.
    [7] Carroll AB (1991) The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Bus Horiz 34: 39–48.
    [8] Commission of the European Communities (2001) Green Paper. Promoting a European Framework for Corporate Social Responsibility, Doc/01/9, Brussels.
    [9] Elkington J (2004) Enter the Triple Bottom Line, in Henriques, A., Richardson, J. (Eds.). The Triple Bottom Line: Does it All Add Up? Assessing the Sustainability of Business and CSR . London: Earthscan Publications 1–16.
    [10] Maloni M J, Brown M E (2006) Corporate social responsibility in the supply chain: an application in the food industry. J Bus Ethics 68: 35–52.
    [11] Hartmann M (2011) Corporate social responsibility in the food sector. Eur Rev Agric Econ 38: 297–324.
    [12] Manning L (2013) Corporate and consumer social responsibility in the food supply chain. Brit Food J 115: 9–29.
    [13] Nazzaro C, Stanco M, Marotta G (2020) The Life Cycle of Corporate Social Responsibility in Agri-Food: Value Creation Models. Sustainability 12: 1287.
    [14] Briamonte L, Hinna L (2008) La responsabilità sociale delle imprese del sistema agroalimentare. Studi e Ricerche INEA, Roma: Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane.
    [15] Ross RB, Pandey V, Ross KL (2015) Sustainability and strategy in U.S. agri-food firms: An assessment of current practices. Int Food Agribusiness Manag Rev18: 17-48.
    [16] Liapakis A, Costopoulou C, Tsiligiridis T, et al. (2017) Studying Corporate Social Responsibility Activities in the Agri-Food Sector: The Greek Case. Int J Agric Environ Inf Syst 8: 1–13.
    [17] Lagerkvist CJ, Hess S (2011) A meta-analysis of consumer willingness to pay for farm animal welfare. Eur Rev Agric Econ 38: 55–78.
    [18] Pino G, Amatulli C, De Angelis, et al. (2016) The influence of corporate social responsibility on consumers' attitudes and intentions toward genetically modified foods: evidence from Italy. J Clean Prod 112: 2861–2869.
    [19] Lerro M, Raimondo M, Freda R (2016) Determinants of corporate social responsibility support: A consumers' perspective. Quality - Access to Success 1: 172–180.
    [20] Morgan CJ, Olynk Widmar NJ, Wilcoxc MD, et al. (2018) Perceptions of Agriculture and Food Corporate Social Responsibility. J Food Prod Mark 24: 146–162.
    [21] Aragón-Correa JA, Hurtado-Torres N, Sharma S. et al. (2008) Environmental Strategy and Performance in Small Firms: A Resource-Based Perspective. J Environ Manage 86: 88–103.
    [22] Marotta G, Nazzaro C (2012) Responsabilità sociale e creazione di valore nell'impresa agroalimentare: nuove frontiere di ricerca. Economia Agro-Alimentare 14: 13–54.
    [23] Temri L, Giordano G, Kessari ME (2014) Innovation et responsabilité sociale des entreprises (RSE) dans les entreprises agroalimentaires du Languedoc-Roussillon: le rôle de la performance économique. Innov 46: 115–139.
    [24] Fu YJ, Shen JQ (2015) Correlation Analysis between Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance of Chinese Food-processing Enterprises. Adv J Food Sci Technol 7: 850–856.
    [25] Garriga E, Melé D (2004) Corporate Social Responsibility Theories: Mapping the Territory. J Bus Ethics 53: 51–71.
    [26] Friedman M (1970) The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. New York Times Magazine September 13.
    [27] Barnett ML (2007) Stakeholder influence capacity and the variability of financial returns to Corporate Social Responsibility. Acad Manage Rev 32: 794–816.
    [28] Margolis JD, Elfenbein HA, Walsh JP (2007) Does It Pay to Be Good? A Meta-Analysis and Redirection of Research on the Relationship between Corporate Social and Financial Performance. Working paper. Cambridge MA: Harvard Business School.
    [29] Perrini F, Russo A. Tencati A, et al. (2012) Deconstructing the Relationship Between Corporate Social and Financial Performance. J Bus Ethics 102: 59–76.
    [30] Orlitzky M, Schmidt FL, Rynes SL (2003) Corporate social and financial performance: a meta-analysis. Organ Stud 24: 403–441.
    [31] Battaglia M, Testa F, Bianchi L, et al. (2014) Corporate Social Responsibility and Competitiveness within SMEs of the Fashion Industry: Evidence from Italy and France. Sustainability 6: 872–893.
    [32] McWilliams A, Siegel D (2001) Corporate social responsibility: a theory of the firm perspective. Acad Manage Rev 26: 117–127.
    [33] Sharma S, Vredenburg H (1998) Proactive corporate environmental strategy and the development of competitively valuable organizational capabilities. Strateg Manag J 19: 729–753.
    [34] Becchetti L, De Panizza A, Oropallo F (2007) Role of Industrial District Externalities in Export and Value-added Performance: Evidence from the Population of Italian Firms. Reg Stud 41: 601–621.
    [35] Aiello F, Pupo V, Ricotta F (2014) Explaining Total Factor Productivity at Firm Level in Italy: Does Location Matter? Spat Econ Anal 9: 51–70.
    [36] Amadieu P, Viviani JL (2010) Intangible Effort and Performance: The Case of the French Wine Industry. Agribusiness 26: 280–306.
    [37] Wu ML (2006) Corporate social performance, corporate financial performance, and firm size: a meta-analysis. J Am Acad Bus 8:163–171.
    [38] Younis H, Sundarakani B (2020) The impact of firm size, firm age and environmental management certification on the relationship between green supply chain practices and corporate performance. Benchmarking: Intern J 27: 319–346.
    [39] Lee YM, Hu JL (2010) Integrated Approaches for Business Sustainability: The Perspective of Corporate Social Responsibility. Sustainability 10: 2318.
    [40] Gonzales-Benito J, Gonzales-Benito Ó (2006) A Review of Determinant Factors of Environmental Proactivity. Bus Strategy Environ 15: 87–102.
    [41] Micheli G, Cagno E, Mustillo G, et al. (2020) Green supply chain management drivers, practices and performance: A comprehensive study on the moderators. J Clean Prod 259: 121024.
    [42] Martinez-Conesa I, Soto-Acosta P, Palacios-Manzano M (2017) Corporate social responsibility and its effect on innovation and firm performance: An empirical research in SMEs. J Clean Prod 142: 2374–2383.
    [43] Herrera Madueno J, Larrán Jorge M, Martínez Conesa I, et al. (2016)Relationship between corporate social responsibility and competitive performance in Spanish SMEs: Empirical evidence from a stakeholders' perspective. BRQ Bus Res Q 19: 55–72.
    [44] Buil-Carrasco I, Fraj-Andrés E, Matute-Vallejo J (2008) Corporate Environmentalism Strategy in the Spanish Consumer Product Sector: a Typology of Firms. Bus Strat Env 17: 350–368.
    [45] Blackburn VL, Doran M, Shrader CB (1994) Investigating the dimensions of social responsibility and the consequences for corporate financial performance. J Manag Issues 6: 195–212.
    [46] Aupperle KE, Carroll AB, Hatfield JD (1985) An empirical investigation of the relationship between corporate social responsibility and profitability. Acad Manage J 28: 446–463.
    [47] Ullmann AA (1985) Data in Search of a Theory: A Critical Examination of the Relationships among Social Performance, Social Disclosure, and Economic Performance of U. S. Firms. Acad Manag Rev 10: 540–557.
    [48] Wang Q, Dou J, Jia S (2016) A Meta-Analytic Review of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Financial Performance: The Moderating Effect of Contextual Factors. Bus Soc 55: 1083–1121.
    [49] Coppola A, Ianuario S (2017) Environmental and social sustainability in Producer Organizations' strategies. Brit Food J 119: 1732–1747.
  • Reader Comments
  • © 2020 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com
  • 1. 

    沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院 沈阳 110142

  1. 本站搜索
  2. 百度学术搜索
  3. 万方数据库搜索
  4. CNKI搜索
AIMS Environmental Science
1.6 2.9

Metrics

Article views(4167) PDF downloads(460) Cited by(11)

Preview PDF
Download XML
Export Citation
Article outline

Figures and Tables

Figures(1)  /  Tables(10)

Other Articles By Authors

Related pages

Tools

/

DownLoad:  Full-Size Img  PowerPoint
Return
Return

Catalog