Agribusiness social responsibility in emerging economies: Effects of legal structure, economic performance and managers’ motivations

• Published in: Journal of cleaner production Vol. 289; p. 125157
• Main Authors: Bavorová, Miroslava, Bednarikova, Zuzana, Ponkina, Elena V., Visser, Oane
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 20.03.2021
• Subjects: Agribusiness; Agricultural production cooperatives; Path dependency; Rural areas; Siberia; Agricultural production cooperatives; Agribusiness; Rural areas; Siberia; Path dependency
• ISSN: 0959-6526; 1879-1786
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125157

While corporate social responsibility (CSR) in emerging and developing countries has attracted increased attention, most research still focuses on firms that conduct CSR under pressure from the West (e.g., through the dominance of Western firms or of certification in global value chains). This article studied how CSR takes shape domestically in an emerging economy (Russia), in remote rural areas, outside the reach of international mechanisms enforcing CSR. Specifically, it investigated corporate support for social and technical infrastructure for rural communities, based on a survey of 110 farms and qualitative interviews with farm managers in the Altai region, Siberia. It showed that many farms continue Soviet-era support for infrastructure, but unevenly. Farms with the legal form of a production cooperative and those with good economic performance were most likely to conduct CSR. Most farm managers expressed care for the local community but instrumental motivations, such as keeping good relations with local authorities to ensure access to land also featured. •Good economic performance and a cooperative legal structure increase social responsibility.•Farm manager’s age as a proxy for socialist experience does not positively affect social responsibility.•Farm managers taking high financial risks are less likely to support infrastructure.•Local stakeholders (community, state) rather than international ones are important.•The study highlights the importance of the embeddedness of CSR.