A moderated mediation model of CSR and organizational attractiveness among job applicants

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role of perceived overall justice and the moderating effect of self- and other-centered motives in the relationship between organizational corporate social responsibility (CSR) and organizational attractiveness using a sample of job applicants. Design/methodology/approach – The hypotheses were tested using a 2-by-2 experimental design and a sample of 376 South Korean University students. Findings – The results showed that organizational CSR positively influenced job applicants’ perceived overall justice. Moreover, it was found that perceived overall justice mediated the influence of CSR on organizational attractiveness. However, contrary to the hypotheses, the indirect effect of CSR on organizational attractiveness through perceived overall justice was significant only for job applicants who attributed self-centered motives to CSR. Practical implications – As it was found that job applicants who attributed other-centered motives to organizational CSR had high levels of perceived overall justice regarding organizations, independent of the actual level of engagement in CSR, it is crucial that organizations show sincerity in executing CSR. In addition, small- and medium-sized organizations may not have sufficient resources for CSR, but it is especially crucial for them to focus on CSR activities that are aligned with their business, implement CSR programs consistently, and focus on CSR itself rather than on advertising in order to facilitate, among job applicants, the attribution of other-centered motives to their CSR. Originality/value – From the perspective of overall justice and attributed motives, this study intensively explores the internal mechanism by which organizational engagement in CSR influences organizational attractiveness among job applicants. In practical terms, this study shows that it is important for organizations to consistently invest in CSR with authenticity, even when CSR activities are insubstantial and doing so may be attributed to self-centered motives. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

The Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and Employer Attractiveness in Egypt: The Moderating Effect of the Individual’s Income

“…They also reveal that each individual dimension of CSR -namely, economic, legal, and discretionary, has a positive relationship with employer attractiveness. These results are in line with most of the studies examining the relationship between CSR and employer attractiveness (Backhaus et al, 2002;Evans & Davis, 2011;Greening & Turban, 2000;Joo et al, 2016;Lis, 2012;Luce et al, 2001;Rahim et al, 2011;Smith et al, 2004;Turban & Greening, 1996;Zaid & Al-Manasra, 2013 choice decisions in China and Taiwan (Ramasamy et al, 2008). Similarly, CSR is an important decision factor for joining an organization in Malaysia (Rahim et al, 2011).…”

“…Myriad researchers have associated CSR with diverse forms of competitive advantage. It has been associated with good financial performance (Bea, Pelham, & Yuko, 2015;Heli & Jaepil, 2013), cost reduction (Panwar, Nybakk, Hansen, & Pinkse, 2016), word of mouth and customer retention (Saleh, Ebeid, & Abdelhameed, 2015), employee retention (Bode, Singh, & Rogan, 2015), job satisfaction and organizational commitment (Ching-Sing, Chun-Chen, Hsien-Bin, Kang-Ni, Chien-Hsiung, & Ji-Shou, 2013), and organizational attractiveness (Evans & Davis, 2011;Joo, Moon, & Choi, 2016;Zaid & Al-Manasra, 2013).…”

“…A considerable number of studies support the presence of a relationship between CSR and employer attractiveness (Backhaus, Stone, & Heiner, 2002;Evans & Davis, 2011;Greening & Turban, 2000;Joo et al, 2016;Lis, 2012;Smith, Wokutch, Harrington, & Dennis, 2004;Turban & Greening, 1996;Zaid & Al-Manasra, 2013). At the other extreme end, substantial research findings indicate that CSR is relatively unimportant as an attractive element of organizations, where other traditional job elements like salary and promotional opportunities are more essential (Bergen, 2008;Maheshwari & Yadav, 2015;Pingle & Sharma, 2013;Ramasamy et al, 2008;Sohn, Sohn, KlassWissing, & Hirsch, 2015;Verma & Ahmad, 2016).…”

“…High levels of job-choice (Albinger & Freeman, 2000), Person-Organization (P-O) fit (Behrend, Baker, & Thompson, 2009), level of uncertainty in evaluating a potential employer (Bergen, 2008), employer branding (Gomes & Neves, 2010), self-centered and other-centered motives (Joo et al, 2016), culture (Kang & Alcantara, 2011), gender (Ramasamy et al, 2008;Ray, 2006), regions with more job choices, and more academic performance (Ramasamy et al, 2008), have been employed as moderating variables. Whereas, P-O fit (Kim & Park, 2011;Zaid & Al-Manasra, 2013), perceptions of organization's reputation (Behrend et al, 2009), firm familiarity (Luce, Barber, & Hillman, 2001), and perceived overall justice (Joo et al, 2016), have mediated this relationship in previous studies.…”

“…The relationship between CSR and employer attractiveness has been investigated in many countries; in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong (Ramasamy et al, 2008), United States (Backhaus et al, 2002;Behrend et al, 2009;Evans & Davis, 2011;Greening & Turban, 2000;Kim & Park, 2011;Luce et al, 2001;Ray, 2006;Smith et al, 2004;Turban & Greening, 1996), Malaysia (Rahim, Sidik, & Jalaludin, 2011), Spain (Gomes & Neves, 2010), Pakistan (Shahzad et al, 2011), Norway (Bergen, 2008), Turkey (Bir et al, 2009), Germany (Sohn et al, 2015), India (Maheshwari & Yadav, 2015;Pingle & Sharma, 2013;Verma & Ahmad, 2016), Korea (Joo et al, 2016), and Jordan (Zaid & Al-Manasra, 2013). However, this relationship didn't attract the attention of scholars in Egypt.…”