Social Responsibility, Social Capital and Performance of Farmers’ Cooperatives
ZHANG Ying1, ZHAO Cuiping1, WANG Lili2
1. School of Economics and Management , Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; 2. School of Economics and Management , Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Abstract Based on the survey data of 407 farmers’ cooperatives in Henan, Shaanxi and Shanxi province, this paper constructs a theoretical analytical framework of “social responsibility, social capital and performance of farmers’ cooperatives” and uses the structural equation model to empirically test the impact of social responsibility on cooperative performance. The results show that cooperatives’ social responsibility has no direct effect on its economic performance, but it has significant positive effects on internal social capital, external social capital and satisfaction of members. And internal social capital and external social capital have a complete intermediary effect between social responsibility and cooperatives’ economic performance, and there is partial intermediary between cooperatives’ social responsibility and members’ satisfaction. This means that social responsibility behavior does not cause the loss of efficiency of cooperatives, but can promote the improvement of cooperatives’ performance indirectly, which is the motivation for cooperatives to assume social responsibility. Therefore, we should change the traditional view of “ responsibility=cost ” and pay attention to the accumulation of social capital.At the same time, local government departments should provide a relaxed environment for cooperatives to fulfill their social responsibilities and accumulate social capital.
2021, Vol. 38 
