Understanding mechanisms that agricultural producers apply in response to evolving social pressures

Abstract

Globally, the agricultural sector is linked to negative environmental outcomes, such as water quality and biodiversity deterioration. Consequently, agriculture faces increasing scrutiny by external stakeholders, such as the public and the media. The increasing environmental concerns and public scrutiny present challenges for agricultural producers to maintain stakeholder support, particularly in light-touch regulation countries such as New Zealand (NZ), where governmental intervention is low and stakeholders are able to influence the overall perception of farming. The theoretical concept of ‘organisational legitimacy’ has previously been used to study evolving social pressures, and refers to the informal approval or acceptance that stakeholders, such as the public, scientists, policy-makers, and local communities, grant to an individual business or sector. To identify how an agricultural sector copes with stakeholder acceptance, our study focuses on identifying strategies NZ dairy farmers adopt to retain stakeholder approval. Twenty-six dairy farmers were interviewed about changes they had made over the last five years, the motivation behind that change, and how stakeholder perceptions played a role in their businesses. Interviewees applied a combination of immediate responses to negative environmental contributions, and long-term responses to anticipate or avoid further challenging events. The study contributes to literature by introducing a theoretical lens novel to the study of stakeholder pressure on agricultural practices: organisational legitimacy. Furthermore, the study provides insights regarding the influence of stakeholder perspectives on farmer behaviour in a light-touch policy environment.