Brand, Quality, and CSR: Which Management Strategy Achieves High Financial Performance for Agricultural Small-Medium Enterprises?

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the mechanism for the combined influence of brand, quality, and corporate social responsibility management strategy on financial performance. These management concepts are positively used in agricultural small-medium enterprises as three research streams. However, because of resource limitations, the cost of brand management would be a burden or corporate social responsibility activities may lead to harmful performance. There are many conflicting findings in the existing research. This study analyzed data from 371 agricultural small-medium enterprises in China using fsQCA 3.0. The result reveals four solution pathways for achieving high financial performance and highlights the attributes of each solution pathway. The findings suggest that integrating brand, quality, and corporate social responsibility management, or combining brand and quality management are effective options for achieving high financial performance in agricultural small-medium enterprises. These results have significant implications for managers seeking to improve their firm’s financial performance by optimizing their management strategies. JEL Classification: M14, M31, Q13