Have a look at our trailer for a brief introduction to this course: https://youtu.be/GADAgxTHjgE In this course, you learn how the agro-food value chain approaches the challenge of constantly improving its competitiveness by producing high quality food and products and also aiming to attain greater sustainability. Some of the topics of this course are: • The notion of quality for food and agricultural products and consumer value. • How to conduct market research in this field. • Labelling, branding and pricing strategies, as-well as innovation in the agro-food sector. • How sustainability can be used as a competitive advantage through corporate social responsibility. • The role and different types of industrial standards. • The different forms of coordination in the chain, in particular with regard to the retailing and distribution sector. This course is taught by a group of international experts from Universities in Italy, Germany, Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands. Each of them will give you insights into a specific topic related to food quality and the organization of the agro-food value chains.
Part 2: Corporate Social Responsibilities in the Agro-food Sector
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來自 Technische Universität München (TUM) 的課程
The Economics of Agro-Food Value Chains
46 個評分
從本節課中
Module 10: Corporate Social Responsibility in the Agro-Food Sector
In this module we will talk about “Corporate Social Responsibility in the Agro-food Sector and its Relevance for Food Companies”.
與講師見面
Hannes LangResearch Associate
Technical University of Munich
Luisa MenapaceProfessor
Technical University of Munich
Faical AkaichiResearch Economist
Scotland’s Rural College
Francesco BimboResearch Economist
Wageningen University
Montserrat Costa-FontResearch Economist
Scotland’s Rural College
Carlo RussoAssociate Professor
University of Cassino and Lazio Meridionale
Chenguang LiResearch Economist
University College Dublin
[MUSIC]
From an economic point of view, implementing corporate social
responsibility action can be considered as the provision of a good with
at least some public good characteristic or a positive externality.
Indeed, contrary to the neoclassical theory of firm which consider
social issues as peripheral to the challenge of corporate management.
Nowaday, the widespread societal desire to address social issues has created a market
incentive for the firms to invest in socially responsible practices.
Indeed, agro-food firms may now differ in say their products
by endowing them with social attributes.
Such products indeed are targeted to the share of marketed,
which is sensitive to social issues and which is willing to pay more for
such product with sustainable or ethical feature.
Such premium price, rewards firms for
at least their effort to mitigate social problems.
Further, a large group of scientific literature pointed out the many
advantages for firm for their engagement in social serving issues.
First, as we say, the consumer seem to value more food products coming from firms
that adopt corporate social responsibility plan.
Furthermore, firms will a well-defined corporate social responsibility plan
increase their credibility in front of the society.
That increase the consumer trust, consumer satisfaction and loyalty for
the company's products.
Thus, visible corporate social responsibility activities
announce the firm's reputation.
Providing leverage for managing stakeholders and creating a significant
competitive advantages in market where the product differentiation is difficult.
Also corporate social responsibility activity and also about sustainability
issues may lower the cost of production as well as improving the efficiency,
and may contribute positively to firm's profitability.
Second, the researchers have also proved that the social responsible firms may keep
employees motivated as well as to increase their loyalty to the company.
Third, companies that demonstrate their engagement in social
practice that go beyond regulatory compliance requirements are less
scrutinized by consumer and national and local governmental entities.
In many cases, such companies are subject to fewer inspection and paperwork.
Lastly, company addressing ethical, social and environmental responsibilities
have often easier access to financial capital compared to other.
Given so many advantages and point source responsibility practice
may pay off with multiple benefits to firms that decide to invest in this area.
Pressure on agro-food firms for
employing socially responsible practice come from different sources and
affects agro-food companies in a different way according to their size.
Societal concern for preserving the environment,
as well as the public request for ethical behavior are the main corporate
social responsibility driver for a large sized agro-food company.
Furthermore, the information age has contributed to significantly
reduce the societal pressure on company since word spreads quickly
when companies fail to comply to societal standards.
Indeed, consumer often organize themselves in movements
to boycott products from company.
That do not match societal standards, such as they use product that they
may hit the health, offering poor labor condition to their employees.
Lack of environmentally responsible subsidiary located in developing country.
Or otherwise, the using of unethical practice.
An example of consumer boycott is that one against our box in 2007.
Consumers indeed stopped buying in Starbucks products in many higher
view has as consumers were concerned for their own health.
Since at that time, Starbucks used milk containing human
growth hormone in many of these products.
Thus, in response to Starbucks's activity,
consumers stopped buying its product and Starbucks agreed
to stop using milk containing bovine growth hormone.
This is a clear example how the societal pressure can be
influential in shaping firm's decisions.
Therefore, multinational food companies have to actively promote their corporate
socially responsible activities as well as inform consumer stakeholders about firm's
achievement in ethical and sustainable area where firms are involved in.
Thus, communication instruments, such as standards, code of conduct,
advertisement as well as corporate societal reports are key instruments
to protect the multinational brand's image and to prevent the boycotts of products.
An effective communication indeed as a pivotal rule for food companies looking to
maximize the benefit for their corporate social responsible initiative, gaining
consumer's preference and differentiating their product from those of competitors.
Also, scientific literature well-documented the fact that
consumer value more this product and
the way with social attributes compared it to the standard ones.
However, consumer are able to appreciate such attributes only if
it's aware of their presence in firms product.
Thus, multinational expenses in advertising increase
the public awareness of the firms and its responsible practice.
Prompting the customer to purchase its products instead of others.
On the opposite sides, small and medium firms already are not active with
respect to their corporate social responsibility activities.
However, the CSR plan can be measured in the same way of those of
corporate companies.
Indeed, small and medium enterprise do not invest in communication activities.
It seems they prefer investing social capital.
Securing licenses to operate in their own community.
And furthermore, their corporate social responsibility action are taken
in a generally intuitive way no formalized it and rarely publicized it.
This reflect the fact that small and medium enterprises are typically owned and
manage, supported by internal source of funds and often burden with bureaucracy.
Thus, small and medium enterprises may not have enough financial and
human resource to invest in informal corporate social responsible activities or
to gain the know-how for undertaking complex action.
Furthermore, small and medium enterprises have the worst access to
information and consultancy service than large companies have.
Thus, they are less likely to implement, formalize and structure their CSR plans.
Thus, small and medium corporate firm
action remain limited on the area where the firm operates and
are mainly finalized to guarantee the survival of the firm.
Also, small and medium enterprise is quite often focused on short-term profit and
this is means that the long-term investment in corporate
social responsibility process are not of immediate concern of them.
Also, the lack of power in the full chain rescript the restrictive
corporate social responsibility option available to them.
Having a power imbalance makes it difficult for the small and
medium enterprise to bargain with the powerful surprise in customers
who impose no corporate social responsibility based on criteria or
to high responsible standards.
In conclusion, small and medium enterprises,
socially responsible action are limited to small area and
firstly are meant to secure license to operate in their own community.
With this light, we conclude the second lesson of module ten.
See you in the next lesson.
Thanks for read with me.
