The Role of Cooperatives and CSR: The Case of the French Agricultural Sector

Abstract

Changes in French environmental legislation since 2010 require major companies to establish a corporate social responsibility policy. Although very small, small, and medium-sized companies are not as yet required to comply with these obligations, some of them consider that it is necessary to develop provisions addressing this concept, and even to fully embrace them. In view of the particular character of VSEs and SMEs, which are informal in nature, characterized by intuitive strategies, and have limited access to information, this reconnaissance study examines the role of agricultural cooperatives in disseminating information about CSR policies and implementing them in the industry. A preliminary series of qualitative interviews shows that these organizations are taking responsibility for assimilating the regulations in order to prepare their members, and that the existence of certifications is useful in this regard. The reconnaissance nature of the study has enabled us to formulate two research propositions, to be tested by future investigations.

Reflections of Information Sharing and Collaborative Innovation in the Social Responsibility of Cooperatives

“…Just as an increase in innovation can foster competitiveness, it allows for an increase in the effect on CSR . Previous studies have already demonstrated a connection between the capacity for innovation and commitment to CSR (Taddei & Delécolle, 2012). Graafland and Zhang (2014) highlight that the literature has paid more attention in recent years to the association between innovation and CSR.…”

“…This is reflected in the opinions of the European Commission (2002), which defines CSR as a company's contribution to sustainable development, in addition to covering agreements and legal commitments and duties of the company with its stakeholders (stakeholders), where it adopts a medium and long-term view of the business. It is necessary for a company to be socially responsible not only to fulfill its obligations, but also to go beyond them and make greater investments in human capital, in the environment, and in the relationships with its stakeholders (Taddei & Delécolle, 2012).…”

“…Among the different ways of understanding CSR, presented as a theoretical basis for studying the paradigm that: (i) considers CSR as a social strategy, capable of generating value for organizations; and (ii) is aligned and is congruent with the adopted business strategy. In the literature on CSR, there are studies that have investigated this Ilse Maria Beuren / Vanderlei dos Santos / Daniele Cristina Bernd / Celliane Ferraz Pazetto phenomenon in cooperatives (e.g., Amonarriz et al, 2017;Taddei & Delécolle, 2012). Using different methodologies, the organizational approach has involved CSR, in its three dimensions (economic, environmental, and social), also referred to as 3P (people, planet, and profit).…”

Social Development Through Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Responsibility: The Case of Lesvos in Greece

“…Within the existing spectrum of definitions, the concept of alternative entrepreneurship is, in many ways, pioneering the development and practice of CSR, using approaches that are more intuitive than formalized. Unfortunately, these kinds of entrepreneurial activities lack the resources and information compatible with a CSR certification process and its management (Taddei and Delecolle 2012).…”

The moderating effect of organisational culture on the commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the performance of SMEs in Nigeria

“…In order to account for sample-size errors and non-response errors the sample was doubled and rounded up to 800 (Hair et al, 2008). The managers and owners were seen as the most appropriate respondents because they are the key decision makers (Cochet and Chi Vo, 2012;Taddei and Dele'colle, 2012). The process of data collection took about five months in 2013 and involved research assistants.…”