THE RISE OF CORPORATE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY IN SERBIAN ECONOMY: THE CASE OF AGRI-FOOD INDUSTRY

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5937/ekoPolj2104945M

Keywords:

corporate environmental responsibility, agri-food industry, Republic of Serbia, food manufacturing organizations, food processing organizations, agri-food supply and distribution chain organizations

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate corporate environmental responsibility in the agri-food industry in the Republic of Serbia. Empirical research was conducted on a sample of 112 managers of agri-food organizations operating in the territory of the Republic of Serbia, randomly selected from publicly available databases, using Computer Assisted Web Interview - CAWI technique. Data analysis in this study consisted of descriptive statistics. Univariate analysis was used through individual ranking statistics. Nonparametric Kruskal Wallis and post hoc Mann Whitney U test were used to test the significance of differences. Research results show above average level of corporate environmental responsibility in agri-food business world in the Republic of Serbia, yet, not sufficiently high comparing to Serbian consumers view, leaving room for improvement. Food processing organizations proved to be the most sensitive to corporate environmental responsibility issue followed by food manufacturing organizations, and agri-food supply and distribution chain organizations the least.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Amaeshi, K. M., Osuji, O. K., & Nnodim, P. (2008). Corporate social responsibility in supply chains of global brands: a boundaryless responsibility? Clarifications, exceptions and implications. Journal of Business Ethics, 81, 223–234. doi:10.1007/s10551-007-9490-5

Babbie E., & Mouton, J. (2007). The Practice of Social Research. Oxford University Press, Cape Town.

Babović, J. & Veselinović, B. (2010). The agricultural politics of EU and the regional agricultural production in Serbia. Proceedings (Faculty of Economics and Engineering Management), 3(5), 7-24.

Banerjee, S. B., Iyer, E. S., & Kashyap, R. K. (2003). Corporate environmentalism: antecedents and influence of industry type. Journal of Marketing, 67(2), 106–122. doi:10.1509/jmkg.67.2.106.18604

Barać, S., Đokić, D. & Biberdžić, M. (2005). Working effects of combines Zmaj 142 rm and John Deere 2264 in wheat harvest in agro-ecology condition of Srem area. Agricultural Engineering, 30(4), 47-53.

Barakat, S. R., Isabella, G., Boaventura, J. M. G., & Mazzon, J.A. (2016). The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility on Employee Satisfaction. Management Decision, 54, 2325–2339. doi:10.1108/MD-05-2016-0308

Baras, K, J., Turubatović, L., Tadić, R. & Matekalo-Sverak, V. (2004). Integral system in meat production and processing in terms of sustainable development. Meat Technology, 45(3-4), 89-94.

Bilska, B., Wrzosek, M., Kołożyn-Krajewska, D., & Krajewski, K. (2015). Food Losses and Food Waste in the Context of Sustainable Development of the Food Sector. Chinese Business Review, 14(9), 452-462. doi:10.17265/1537-1506/2015.09.005

Birovljev, J., Matkovski, B. & Ćetković, B. (2014). Agriculture and environmental protection in Serbia with the prospect of harmonization to the common agricultural policy of European union. The Annals of the Faculty of Economics in Subotica, 51(32), 17-29.

Bošković, J., Simić, J., Hojka, Z., Vukosav, M. & Sarić, M. (2006). Agro ecological conditions and development possibilities of sustainable agriculture. Economics of Agriculture, 53(2), 347-359.

Boyce, J. (2003). Market Research in Practice. McGraw Hill, Boston.

Briones Peñalver, A. J., Bernal Conesa, J. A., & de Nieves Nieto, C. (2018). Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility in Spanish Agribusiness and Its Influence on Innovation and Performance. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 25, 182–193. doi:10.1002/csr.1448

Brkić, M., Šarić, M. & Gnip, M. (2001). The application of inert gases in cereal grain storage. Journal for Cereal and Flour Technology, 28(1-2), 1-8.

Cohen L., Manion L., & Morrison K. (2007). Research Methods in Education. Routledge, London.

Ćupina, B., Erić, P., Mihailović, V., Mikić, A., Krstić, Đ. & Vučković, S. (2007). Importance, status and prospects of annual forage crops in agro-ecological conditions of Serbia. Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops Proceedings, 44, 261-270.

Dillman, D.A. (2000). Mail and International Surveys: The Tailored Design Method. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Forsman-Hugg, S., Katajajuuri, J. M., Pesonen, I., Paananen, J., Makela, J., & Timonen, P. (2008). Building the Content of CSR in the Food Chain with a Stakeholder Dialogue. Proceedings 12th Congress of the European Association of Agricultural Economists – EAAE 2008, Ghent, Belgium, August 26-29. doi:10.22004/ag.econ.44254

Genier, C., Stamp, M., & Pftzer, M. (2009). Corporate Social Responsibility for Agro-Industries Development. Papers from the First Global Agro-Industries Forum (GAIF) by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) – Agro-Industries for Development 2009, 223–251, New Delhi, India, 8-11 April 2008. doi:10.1079/9781845935764.0223

Hart, S. L. (1997). Beyond Greening: Strategies for a Sustainable World, Harvard Business Review January-February, HBD Press, Boston. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/1997/01/beyond-greening-strategies-for-a-sustainable-world (December 22, 2020)

Hartmann, M. (2011). Corporate Social Responsibility in the Food Sector. European Review of Agriculture Economics, 38(3), 297–324. doi:10.1093/erae/jbr031

Hartmann, M., Heinen, S., Melis, S., & Simons, J. (2013). Consumers’ Awareness of CSR in the German Pork Industry. British Food Journal, 115, 124–141. doi:10.1108/00070701311289911

Jovanić, T. (2013). Agri-environmental legislative framework in Serbia in light of the harmonisation with EU law. Economics of Agriculture, 60(2), 321-335.

Katić, B., Cvijanović, D. & Cicea, C. (2008). Organic production in function of environment protection in Serbia: Condition and regulations. Economics of Agriculture, 55(3), 267-276.

Kong, D. (2012). Does Corporate Social Responsibility Matter in the Food Industry? Evidence from a Nature Experiment in China. Food Policy, 37, 323– 334. doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2012.03.003

Kovačević, D. (2004). Organic Farming – the Concept toward Environmental Protection. Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops Proceedings, 40, 353-371.

Lazić, B. (1991). Experience and problems of eco-vegetables. Economics of Agriculture, 38(6-8), 345-351.

Lerro, M., Caracciolo, F., Vecchio, R., & Cembalo, L. (2018). Consumer’s Side of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Nonhypothetical Study. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 52, 689–710. doi:10.1111/joca.12182

Lerro, M., Raimondo, M., Stanco, M., Nazzaro, C., & Marotta, G. (2019). Cause Related Marketing among Millennial Consumers: The Role of Trust and Loyalty in the Food Industry. Sustainability, 11, 535. doi:10.3390/su11020535

Lerro, M., Vecchio, R., Nazzaro, C., & Pomarici, E. (2019). The Growing (Good) Bubbles: Insights into US Consumers of Sparkling Wine. British Food Journal, 122(8), 2371-2384. doi:10.1108/BFJ-02-2019-0139

Li, D., Cao, C., Zhang, L., Chen, X., Ren, S., & Zhao, Y. (2017). Effects of Corporate Environmental Responsibility on Financial Performance: The Moderating Role of Government Regulation and Organizational Slack. Journal of Cleaner Production, 166, 1323–1334. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.08.129

Liapakis, A., Costopoulou, C., Tsiligiridis, T., & Sideridis, A. (2017). Studying Corporate Social Responsibility Activities in the Agri-Food Sector: The Greek Case. International Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Information Systems, 8(1), 1-13. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-6192-7.ch082

Luhmann, H., & Theuvsen, L. (2016). Corporate Social Responsibility in Agribusiness: Literature Review and Future Research Directions. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 29, 673–696. doi:10.1007/s10806-016-9620-0

Manning, L. (2013). Corporate and Consumer Social Responsibility in the Food Supply Chain. British Food Journal, 115, 9–29. doi:10.1108/00070701311289858

Marković, M. (2018). Organic agriculture as a form of sustainable agricultural development of Serbia. Economics of Sustainable Development, 2(2), 29-36.

Marotta, G., & Nazzaro, C. (2012). Responsabilità Sociale e Creazione di Valore Nell’impresa Agroalimentare: Nuove Frontiere di Ricerca. Economia AgroAlimentare, 1, 13-54.

Mazurkiewicz, P. (2004). Corporate environmental responsibility: Is a common CSR framework possible. World Bank, 2, 1-18.

Mihailović, D. (2012). Metodologija naučnih istraživanja. FON, Beograd. [in English: Mihailović, D. (2012). Methodology of Scientifc Research, FON, Belgrade]

Mihajlović, I., Voza, D., Milošević, I., & Durkalić, D. (2016). Environmental Awareness as Universal European Value. Serbian Journal of Management, 11(2), 149-153.

Milić, T. (2020). Environmental Awareness as Corporate Competitiveness Factor: A Research from Serbia. Conference Proceedings XVII International Symposium SymOrg2020 – Business and Artificial Intelligence, Belgrade, Serbia, September 07-10.

Milivojac, M. (2013). Optimal nitrogen fertilizer application rate in apple production on meadow black soil. Annals of Agronomy, 37(1), 27-35.

Mladenović, M., Nemoda, S., Paprika, M., Marinković, A. & Repić, B. (2016). Analysis of Prescriped Limits of NOx Emissions from Biomass Combustion in Selected European Countries and in Serbia. Contemporary Agricultural Engineering, 42(4), 187-244.

Nazzaro, C., Lerro, M., Stanco, M., & Marotta, G. (2019). Do Consumers Like Food Product Innovation? An Analysis of Willingness to Pay for Innovative Food Attributes. British Food Journal, 121, 1413–1427. doi:10.1108/BFJ-06-2018-0389

Nazzaro, C., Stanco, M., & Marotta, G. (2020). The Life Cycle of Corporate Social Responsibility in Agri-Food: Value Creation Models. Sustainability, 12(4), 1287; doi:10.3390/su12041287

Nikolić, K., Savić, N. & Nikolić, Z. (2005). The importance of integral protection of plants in preservation of soil. Soil and Plant, 54(2), 125-131.

Popović, G. (2009). Macroeconomic aspects of agri-environmental measures in the EU. Economics of Agriculture, 56(2), 201-219.

Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2009). Research Methods for Business Students. Prentice Hall, Edinburgh.

Stancu, A. (2012). Food and Feed Safety in Romania in the European Union Context:Current Issues. Economic Insights – Trends and Challenges, 64(3), 87-95.

Stojanović, M., Lopičić, Z., Milojković, J., Lačnjevac, Č., Mihajlović, M., Petrović, M. & Kostić, A. (2012). Biomass waste material as potential adsorbent for sequestering pollutants. Journal Materials Protection, 53(3), 231-237.

Subošić, D., Cvetković, D. & Vuković, S. (2012). Forms of environmental crime in agribusiness. Economics of Agriculture, 59(4), 793-807.

Topp-Becker, J. (2017). The Role of Sustainability Reporting in the Agri-Food Supply Chain. Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, doi:10.15640/jaes.v6n1a2.

Trifković, M., Lazić, J., Marinković, G. & Nestorović, Ž. (2017). Construction agri-protection windbreaks in the process of land consolidation. Proceedings of the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Subotica, 31, 67-85.

Turban, D. B., & Greening, D. W. (1997). Corporate Social Performance and Organizational Attractiveness to Prospective Employees. Academy of Management Journal, 40, 658–672. doi:10.2307/257057

Vilkė, R., Pareigienė, L., & Stalgienė, A. (2015). Challenges and incentives for corporate social responsibility in the provision of public goods: An agrarian discourse. Proceedings of the 7th International Scientific Conference Rural Development 2015 – Towards the Transfer of Knowledge, Innovations and Social Progress, Aleksandras Stulginskis University, Lithuania, 19-20 November. doi:10.15544/RD.2015.120

Welman, C., Kruger, F., & Mitchell, B. (2005). Research Methodology. Oxford University Press, Cape Town.

Wiese, A., & Toporowski, W. (2013). CSR Failures in Food Supply Chains: An Agency Perspective. British Food Journal, 115, 92–107. doi:10.1108/00070701311289894

Zaman, G., Panait, M. C., Voica, M. C., & Ene, C. (2020). Corporate Social Responsibility in the Agri-Food Sector. Recent Advancements in Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility, 37-68.

Zekić, S., Maktovski, B. & Kleut, Ž. (2018). The analysis of agro-ecological indicators in Serbia nad EU countries. The Annals of the Faculty of Economics in Subotica, 54(39), 45-57.

Zeng, S., Qin, Y., & Zeng, G. (2019). Impact of Corporate Environmental Responsibility on Investment Efciency: The Moderating Roles of the Institutional Environment and Consumer Environmental Awareness. Sustainability, 11, 4512. doi:10.3390/su11174512

Zimonja-Kaljević, I., Petrović, N. & Vukadinović, J. (2012). Organic production in the European Union and Serbia. Foreign Legal Life, (1), 228-238.

Downloads

Published

2021-12-24

How to Cite

Milić, T. (2021). THE RISE OF CORPORATE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY IN SERBIAN ECONOMY: THE CASE OF AGRI-FOOD INDUSTRY . Ekonomika Poljoprivrede, 68(4), 945–959. https://doi.org/10.5937/ekoPolj2104945M

Issue

Section

Original scientific papers