The Relationship between Social Responsibility and Business Performance: An Analysis of the Agri-Food Sector of Southeast Spain

This study aims to contribute to the existing debate on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) orientation on different measures of business performance through the proposal of a conceptual model. Drawing on stakeholder theory, we conceptualize CSR as a broad and multidimensional constr...

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Main Authors: Martos Pedrero, Antonio, Cortés García, Francisco Joaquín, Jiménez Castillo, David
Format: info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Language:English
Published: MDPI 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10835/7390
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author Martos Pedrero, Antonio
Cortés García, Francisco Joaquín
Jiménez Castillo, David
author_facet Martos Pedrero, Antonio
Cortés García, Francisco Joaquín
Jiménez Castillo, David
author_sort Martos Pedrero, Antonio
collection DSpace
description This study aims to contribute to the existing debate on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) orientation on different measures of business performance through the proposal of a conceptual model. Drawing on stakeholder theory, we conceptualize CSR as a broad and multidimensional construct with seven dimensions: employees, partners, customers, farmers, environment, community, and competition. We also extend the concept of business performance, which includes tangible variables, namely financial performance (FP) and export performance (EXP), as well as intangible variables, namely image and reputation (IR) and the satisfaction of relevant stakeholders (SS). The research context of this study is the agri-food sector in southeastern Spain. This sector has been the focus of attention of numerous researchers due to the relevance that social and environmental aspects have had in its development. To test the proposed model, the partial least-squares technique (PLS-SEM) was applied to data collected by means of a survey from a sample of 107 companies, which represent 81.4% of the turnover of the sector analyzed. The results show that CSR has a positive effect on financial performance, improves the volume and performance of exports, positively affects the corporate image and reputation, and increases the level of satisfaction of relevant stakeholders. Further research should examine the model from the perceptions of other stakeholders (e.g., customers, employees, and suppliers), using a longitudinal research design and exploring other contexts.
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spelling oai:repositorio.ual.es:10835-73902023-04-12T19:10:14Z The Relationship between Social Responsibility and Business Performance: An Analysis of the Agri-Food Sector of Southeast Spain Martos Pedrero, Antonio Cortés García, Francisco Joaquín Jiménez Castillo, David corporate social responsibility financial performance export performance reputation stakeholder satisfaction partial least square technique (PLS-SEM) This study aims to contribute to the existing debate on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) orientation on different measures of business performance through the proposal of a conceptual model. Drawing on stakeholder theory, we conceptualize CSR as a broad and multidimensional construct with seven dimensions: employees, partners, customers, farmers, environment, community, and competition. We also extend the concept of business performance, which includes tangible variables, namely financial performance (FP) and export performance (EXP), as well as intangible variables, namely image and reputation (IR) and the satisfaction of relevant stakeholders (SS). The research context of this study is the agri-food sector in southeastern Spain. This sector has been the focus of attention of numerous researchers due to the relevance that social and environmental aspects have had in its development. To test the proposed model, the partial least-squares technique (PLS-SEM) was applied to data collected by means of a survey from a sample of 107 companies, which represent 81.4% of the turnover of the sector analyzed. The results show that CSR has a positive effect on financial performance, improves the volume and performance of exports, positively affects the corporate image and reputation, and increases the level of satisfaction of relevant stakeholders. Further research should examine the model from the perceptions of other stakeholders (e.g., customers, employees, and suppliers), using a longitudinal research design and exploring other contexts. 2020-01-16T11:42:09Z 2020-01-16T11:42:09Z 2019-11-14 info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2071-1050 http://hdl.handle.net/10835/7390 en https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/22/6390 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess MDPI
spellingShingle corporate social responsibility
financial performance
export performance
reputation
stakeholder satisfaction
partial least square technique (PLS-SEM)
Martos Pedrero, Antonio
Cortés García, Francisco Joaquín
Jiménez Castillo, David
The Relationship between Social Responsibility and Business Performance: An Analysis of the Agri-Food Sector of Southeast Spain
title The Relationship between Social Responsibility and Business Performance: An Analysis of the Agri-Food Sector of Southeast Spain
title_full The Relationship between Social Responsibility and Business Performance: An Analysis of the Agri-Food Sector of Southeast Spain
title_fullStr The Relationship between Social Responsibility and Business Performance: An Analysis of the Agri-Food Sector of Southeast Spain
title_full_unstemmed The Relationship between Social Responsibility and Business Performance: An Analysis of the Agri-Food Sector of Southeast Spain
title_short The Relationship between Social Responsibility and Business Performance: An Analysis of the Agri-Food Sector of Southeast Spain
title_sort relationship between social responsibility and business performance: an analysis of the agri-food sector of southeast spain
topic corporate social responsibility
financial performance
export performance
reputation
stakeholder satisfaction
partial least square technique (PLS-SEM)
url http://hdl.handle.net/10835/7390
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