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Abstract
We investigate the question whether the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) could be used
to replace or complement those of multifunctionality and sustainability in the agri-food sector. It
shows that the double role of citizens as tax payers and customers requests and allows us to directly
link the problems of governance and stakeholder society in an intertemporal framework of total value
maximisation and sustainable development. Thus, the concept of CSR provides a link between the
views on agriculture’s multifunctionality and sustainability. Moreover, the fact that some actors in a
vertical market, such as the agri-food chain, can exercise market power and absorb tax money and
resource rents enforces the need of a broader perspective which involves concern about addresses the
social responsibilities and performance of all actors along this value chain.