Learning from Stakeholder Pressure and Embeddedness: The Roles of Absorptive Capacity in the Corporate Social Responsibility of Dutch Agribusinesses

Abstract

Abstract:In spite of much research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) responses to secondary stakeholders (i.e., social movements, activists, media, civil society and non-governmental organizations), the debate on how companies learn from pressure and collaboration with these societal groups is still open. Building upon stakeholder and knowledge management theories, this paper analyzes how secondary stakeholder pressure and embeddedness influence agribusiness companies' absorptive capacity and their CSR strategies. Data are obtained from 152 Dutch agribusiness company managers. The results highlight that, first, absorptive capacity influences companies' new product innovation, product positioning and organizational innovation to be more oriented towards CSR. Second, stakeholder embeddedness of agribusiness companies triggers absorptive capacity more than pressure from them. Third, stakeholder pressure and embeddedness also have direct (i.e., not mediated by companies' absorptive capacity) yet weaker effects on CSR organizational innovation and product positioning. Findings corroborate the idea that firms develop innovative CSR strategies when they combine internal reflection processes and partnerships with secondary stakeholders.

Enhancing corporate sustainable development: Stakeholder pressures, organizational learning, and green innovation

“…Specifically, exploration mediates the effect of consumer pressure on green product innovation, whereas exploitation mediates the effect of regulation pressure on green process innovation. This finding contributes to stakeholder theory by echoing Ingenbleek and Dentoni's () call to integrate organizational learning theory in order to explain the mechanism through which stakeholder pressures influence green innovation. It also reinforces the natural resource‐based view that the success of green innovation relies on coordinating external drivers and internal capabilities (Hart, ; Zhu et al, ).…”

“…In this situation, organizational learning is required to change organizational operations so as to tackle inertia, learn new behaviors, and interpret phenomena in new ways, which are all conducive to pursuing green innovation in response to external stakeholder pressures (Albort‐Morant et al, ; Greenwood & Hinings, ; Jiménez‐Jiménez & Sanz‐Valle, ; Kloot, ). Because the debate continues on how firms learn from stakeholder pressures (Ingenbleek & Dentoni, ), we extend prior research on how or through which underlying mechanisms stakeholder pressures influence green innovation by investigating the mediating role of two forms of organizational learning: exploration and exploitation.…”

A Literature Review of Inter-Organizational Sustainability Learning

“…At the same time, it explains why some firms are receptive to a broad understanding of value; they articulate consistently their willingness to engage in value creation with a responsive approach [137]. Studies emphasize that absorptive capacity explains how some firms develop sustainable product and service innovations [136,[138][139][140][141], proactive sustainability strategies [142], and environmental and CSR practices and capabilities [143].…”

“…In the words of Liu, Esangbedo and Bai [161], "the purpose of organizational learning is to achieve a new understanding of the external environment of the members and organizations through an effective mechanism of formation, dissemination, and sharing"; hence environmental conditions set a rationale for learning. Indeed, one study finds that "companies adapt their strategies and orient them towards CSR to stakeholder pressures also independently from what they are actually learning from them" [138]. This finding shows the crucial impact of the external environment in shaping firms' organizational behavior when it comes to sustainability issues.…”

The Effect of Absorptive Capacity on Green Customer Capital under an Organizational Unlearning Context

“…Another way to gain a competitive advantage is through customer management and relationships with customers [2,57]. Thus, as well as having good relationships with customers, companies must acquire knowledge about customers to forge a strong reputation and respond more effectively to current and future customer needs [9,26].…”