An Examination to Explain the Mechanism of Employees’ Environment-Specific Behavior through CSR and Work Engagement from the Perspective of Stewardship Theory

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged as an imperative for every sector globally. Yet, for a long time, the concept of CSR has been regarded from an organizational perspective. However, the importance of CSR in shaping the extra-role behavior of employees, such as their pro-environmental behavior (PEB-E), has been under-explored in the literature. Against this backdrop, the current study aims to investigate the impact of CSR on PEB-E with the mediating effect of work engagement (W.E) in the context of a emerging country. The study also employs stewardship theory as an alternate theory to explain the proposed relationships. The data of the current study were obtained from SME sector through a self-administered (paper-and-pencil method) questionnaire. A random sample of employees (n = 398) from different SMEs was selected and analyzed through structural equation modeling. The results of the current survey revealed that CSR directly and indirectly, via W.E, predicts PEB-E positively. The findings of the current study will be helpful for policymakers to understand that well-planned CSR activities, not only create positive repute for an SME, but also provide the underlying justification to its employees to be engaged in different environment-specific behaviors.

Proposing Employee Level CSR as an Enabler for Economic Performance: The Role of Work Engagement and Quality of Work-Life

“…Lastly, as the issues of sustainable development, sustainable future, climate change, and sustainability have emerged as important business imperatives, the CSR activities of a hotel enterprise may also be helpful for an enterprise to net carbon neutrality through its employees. As the engaged workers [104] with an improved quality of work-life [105] as an outcome of CSR also support an enterprise to achieve its sustainability objectives.…”

Pro-Environmental Employee Engagement: The Influence of Pro-Environmental Organizational, Job and Personal Resources

“…At the job level, coaching and training programs, which aimed to increase the capability of supervisors to support employees' engagement in environmentally sustainable initiatives, could be implemented as a useful intervention [93]. Coaching supervisors to effectively set goals and provide feedback was shown to motivate employees to more actively participate in environmental sustainability programs [94].…”

“…Furthermore, coaching conversations could help enable employees to enhance and share their knowledge of environmental sustainability opportunities and to design and develop a range of environmentally sustainable initiatives in their role [95]. More generally, employees may be more positively predisposed to engage in environmentally sustainable initiatives if they receive clear, practical, and timely information and have opportunities to craft the way they carry out their work in more sustainable ways [93]. The provision of environmentally sustainable job resources can inform employee experiences of pro-environmental meaningful work and pro-environmental engagement.…”

Unleashing the Potential Role of CSR and Altruistic Values to Foster Pro-Environmental Behavior by Hotel Employees

“…For example, considering better employment conditions for employees is an important CSR act of an organization; however, creating a positive impact on the general community and the environment has far-reaching consequences in the long term. The importance of stewardship theory from the perspective of the environment was, therefore, considered in some recent CSR studies [91,92].…”