Strategic orientation, CSR and operational performance: Mediation and moderation effects in the Polish food-manufacturing industry
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Published:
Jul 27, 2019
Keywords:
CSR, strategic orientation, performance, manufacturing, survey
Main Article Content
Abstract
The aim of the study is to investigate relationships between strategic orientation (SO), involvement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and operational performance (OP). It tests the proposition that SO is not linked with OP directly but through CSR serving as the mediator. In addition, SO is hypothesized to moderate the association between CSR and OP. The research involves a representative cross-sectional survey of 400 managers of SMEs operating in the Polish food manufacturing industry. Statistical methods include confirmatory factor analysis with AMOS 24 and multiple linear regression using SPSS 24.
The study reveals a complete mediation effect by CSR of the links from three aspects of SO to OP. Specifically, aggressiveness, proactiveness and defensiveness are positively associated with CSR, while analysis, future orientation and risk propensity show no relationship. Also, aggressiveness moderates the link from CSR to OP, so that firms with higher aggressiveness display a stronger connection between CSR and OP.
The outcomes suggest that part of the positive effects of CSR may come from more general strategic stances and attitudes. Moreover, it seems that certain aspects of strategic orientation might be more effective when implemented in an organizational environment with strong CSR values. In particular, strategies based on aggressiveness and proactiveness appear to be more effective when complemented by heightened social sensitivity.
This research validates the role of CSR as a viable managerial approach contributing to greater operational performance of companies. This could help build a stronger case to promote socially responsible business practices not only through its beneficial social impacts but also due to its effects on firms’ performance. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first research focused on associations between SO, CSR and OP, using a large, representative sample of SMEs.
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Zaborek, P. (2019). Strategic orientation, CSR and operational performance: Mediation and moderation effects in the Polish food-manufacturing industry. Journal of Management and Financial Sciences, (34), 23–49. https://doi.org/10.33119/JMFS.2018.34.2
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References
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paper industry. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 9, 133–146.
53. Zaborek P., 2014. CSR and Financial Performance: The Case of Polish Small and Medium Manufacturers. International Journal of Management and Economics, 43 (3), 53–73.
Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 47–66.
2. Anderson B. S., Kreiser P. M., Kuratko D. F., Hornsby J. S., Eshima Y., 2015. Reconceptualizing entrepreneurial orientation. Strategic Management Journal, 36, 1579–1596.
3. Balodi C. B., 2014. Strategic orientations and organizational forms: an integrative framework. European Business Review, 26 (2), 188–203
4. Barney, J. B., 1991. Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17 (1), 99–120.
5. Barron R. M., Kenny D. A., 1986. The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.
6. Bello, Z., 2005. Socially responsible investing and portfolio diversification. Journal of Financial Research, 28, 4–57.
7. Borsboom D., 2005. Measuring the Mind: Conceptual Issues in Contemporary Psychometrics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
8. Bowen, N.; Guo, S., 2012. Structural Equation Modeling: Pocket Guides to Social Research Methods. New York, NY, USA: Oxford University Press.
9. Buciuniene I., Kazlauskaite R., 2012. The linkage between HRM, CSR and performance outcomes, Baltic Journal of Management, 7 (1). 5–24.
10. Byrne, B., 2010. Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS: Basic Concepts, Applications and Programming, 2nd ed. New York, NY, USA: Routledge.
11. Carroll, A. B., 1999. Corporate social responsibility, evolution of a definitional construct. Business and Society, 38, 268–295.
12. Central Statistical Office, 2017. Statistical Yearbook of Industry – Poland: Branch Yearbooks.
13. Coltman, T., Devinney, T. M., Midgley, D. F., Veniak S., 2008. Formative versus reflective measurement models: Two applications of formative measurement. Journal of Business Research,
61, pp. 1250–1262.
14. Cruz M., Matsypura D., 2009. Supply chain networks with corporate social responsibility through integrated environmental decision-making. International Journal of Production
Research, 47 (3). 621–648.
15. Elkington, J., 1998. Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of the 21st Century Business. Environmental Quality Management, 8 (1), 37–51.
16. Fuller, C. M., Simmering, M. J., Atinc, G., Atinc, Y., & Babin, B. J., 2016. Common methods variance detection in business research. Journal of Business Research, 69 (8), 3192–3198.
17. Galbreath J., 2010. The impact of strategic orientation on corporate social responsibility. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 18 (1), 23–40.
18. Garson, D., 2012. Structural Equation Modeling. Statistical Association Publishing Blue Book Series. Asheboro: Statistical Association Publishing.
19. Grant, R. M., 1991. The resource-based theory of competitive advantage: Implications for strategy formulation. California Management Review, 33 (3), 114–135.
20. Hair, J., Black,W., Babin, B., Anderson, R., 2007. Multivariate Data Analysis, 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA: Prentice-Hall.
21. Hakala H., 2011. Strategic orientations in management literature: three approaches to understanding the interaction between market, technology, entrepreneurial and learning orientations. International Journal of Marketing Reviews, 13 (2), 199–217.
22. Hsueh, C. F.; Chang, M. S., 2008. Social Responsibility for Supply Chain Integration. European Journal of Operational Research, 190 (1), 116–129.
23. Isa, M. S., Reast, J., 2014. Operationalising Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Development Debate. Asian Academy Management Journal, 16 (1), 169–197.
24. Jayachandran S., Kalaignanam,K., Eilert A. M., 2013. Product and environmental social performance: varying effect on firm performance. Strategic Management Journal, 35, 1255–64.
25. Johnson J., Martin K., Saini A., 2012. The role of a firm’s strategic orientation dimensions in determining market orientation. Industrial Marketing Management, 41, 715–724.
26. Kang C., Germann F., Grewal R., 2016. Washing away sins? Corporate social responsibility, corporate social irresponsibility, and firm performance. Journal of Marketing, 80 (3), 59–79.
27. Lagoarde-Segot T., 2011. Corporate Social Responsibility as a Bolster for Economic Performance: Evidence from Emerging Markets. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 6, 38–53.
28. Lu, W., Chau, K., Wang, H., Pan, W., 2014. A decade’s debate on the nexus between corporate social and financial performance: a critical review of empirical studies 2002–2011. Journal of
Cleaner Production, 79, 195–206.
29. Luo, X., Bhattacharya, C. B., 2006. Corporate social responsibility, customer satisfaction, and market value. Journal of Marketing, 70, 1–18.
30. Maignan I., Ferrell O. C., Hull G. T., 1999. Corporate Citizenship: Cultural Antecedents and Business Benefits. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 27 (4), 455–469.
31. Malhotra, N., 2010. Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation, 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
32. Maloni, J. M; Brown, M. E., 2006. Corporate Social Responsibility in the Supply Chain: An Application in the Food Industry. Journal of Business Ethics, 68, 35–52.
33. Matuszak, Ł., Różańska, E., 2017. An examination of the relationship between CSR disclosure and financial performance: The case of Polish banks. Journal of Accounting and Management Information Systems. 16 (4), 522–533.
34. McGuire J. B., Sundgren A., Schneeweis T., 1988. Corporate social responsibility and firm financial performance. Academy of Management Journal, 31 (4), 854–72.
35. McWilliams, A., Siegel, D., Wright, P., 2006. Guest editors’ introduction. Corporate social responsibility: Strategic implications. Journal of Management Studies, 43, 1–18.
36. Miles R. E., Snow C. C., 1978. Organizational Strategy, Structure and Process. New York: McGraw-Hill.
37. Minor D., Morgan J., 2011. CSR as reputation insurance: primum non nocere, California Management Review, 53 (3), 40–59.
38. Mishra S.; Suar D., 2010. Does Corporate Social Responsibility Influence Firm Performance of Indian Companies? Journal of Business Ethics, 95, 571–601.
39. Morgan R. E., Strong C. A., 1997. Market orientation and dimensions of strategic orientation. European Journal of Marketing, 32 (11/12).
40. Nelling E., Webb E., 2009. Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: the “virtuous circle” revisited. Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, 32 (2), 197–209.
41. Peloza, J., 2006. Using corporate social responsibility as insurance for financial performance. California Management Review, 48, 52–72.
42. Peñaloza, L. Mish, J., 2011. The nature and processes of market co-creation in triple bottom line firms: Leveraging insights from consumer culture theory and service dominant logic.
Marketing Theory, 11 (1), 9–34.
43. Peters, R., Mullen, M., 2009. Some Evidence of the Cumulative Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Financial Performance. The Journal of Global Business Issues, 3 (1), 1–14.
44. Qu R., 2009, The impact of market orientation and corporate social responsibility on firm performance. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 21 (4), 570–581.
45. Saleh M.; Zulkifli N.; Muhamad R., 2011. Looking for evidence of the relationship between corporate social responsibility and corporate financial performance in an emerging market.
Asia- Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 3 (2), 165–190.
46. Stefańska, M.; Pilarczyk, B., 2015. Strategiczne i operacyjne znaczenie CRM–Cause Related Marketing w strategii przedsiębiorstw handlowych. Marketing i Rynek. 8. 690–698.
47. Tang, Z., Eirikur, H., Rotenberg, S., 2012. How Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement Strategy Moderates the CSR – Financial Performance Relationship. Journal of Management
Studies, 49, 1274–1303.
48. Torgusa, N., O’Donohue, W., Hecker, R., 2012. Capabilities, Proactive CSR and Financial Performance in SMEs: Empirical Evidence from an Australian Manufacturing Industry Sector.
Journal of Business Ethics, 109, 483–500.
49. Torgusa, N., O’Donohue, W., Hecker, R., 2013. Proactive CSR: An Empirical Analysis of the Role of its Economic, Social and Environmental Dimensions on the Association between
Capabilities and Performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 115, 383–402.
50. Venkatraman N., 1989. Strategic orientation of business enterprises: the construct, dimensionality and measurement. Management Science, 35 (8), 942–962.
51. Wagner, M., 2009. Innovation and competitive advantages: from the integration of strategic aspects with social and environmental management in European firms. Business, Strategy and the Environment, 18, 291–306.
52. Wagner, M., Van Phu, N., Azomahou, T., Whermeyer, W., 2002. The relationship between the environmental and economic performance of firms: An empirical analysis of the European
paper industry. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 9, 133–146.
53. Zaborek P., 2014. CSR and Financial Performance: The Case of Polish Small and Medium Manufacturers. International Journal of Management and Economics, 43 (3), 53–73.