Examining drivers and outcomes of corporate social responsibility in agri-food firms

Antonio Martos-Pedrero, David Jiménez-Castillo and Francisco Joaquín Cortés-García
Additional contact information
Antonio Martos-Pedrero: Human and Social Sciences School, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain
David Jiménez-Castillo: Department of Economics and Business, Research Center CIMEDES, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain
Francisco Joaquín Cortés-García: Faculty of Business and Management, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Santiago, Chile

Agricultural Economics, 2022, vol. 68, issue 3, 79-86

Abstract: This study attempts to contribute to the debate on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the financial performance (FP), image and reputation (IR) of agri-food firms, examining whether the legal form of organization (LFO) (cooperatives vs. capital firms) moderates these relationships. To this aim, we also consider the potential effects of two scarcely investigated factors that can determine firms' CSR orientation, that is, the capacity to absorb CSR-related knowledge and the perception that managers have of ethics and social responsibility. Using data from a sample of 107 trading firms in the agri-food sector in Almeria (Spain), we show that both factors play a decisive role in the firms' CSR orientation, which has been measured as a multidimensional construct. Also, the orientation towards socially and environmentally responsible practices positively affect IR of agri-food firms and their FP. The relationship with the FP is stronger in the case of cooperatives compared to capital firms. Key implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Keywords: absorptive capacity; legal form of organization; perception of ethics and social responsibility; reputation; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/398/2021-AGRICECON.html (text/html)
http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/398/2021-AGRICECON.pdf (application/pdf)
free of charge

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:68:y:2022:i:3:id:398-2021-agricecon

DOI: 10.17221/398/2021-AGRICECON

Access Statistics for this article

Agricultural Economics is currently edited by Ing. Zdeňka Náglová Ph.D.

More articles in Agricultural Economics from Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Ivo Andrle ().