Employees' positive perceptions of corporate social responsibility create beneficial outcomes for firms and their employees: Organizational pride as a mediator

Abstract

We studied employees' responses to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program implemented within the Canadian headquarters of a global consumer goods company. Our study is timely since recent studies indicate that employees place more importance on CSR activities when evaluating current or prospective employers. A novel theoretical contribution of our study is that we combine social identity theory and the theory of appraisal of emotions to better understand employee responses. We developed and tested a model that indicates that employees' evaluation and perceptions of the authenticity of their company's CSR efforts can create both firm‐beneficial (loyalty, trust in management, positive word‐of‐mouth) and employee‐beneficial outcomes (job satisfaction, emotional well‐being). The impact of CSR does not result directly—it is mediated by organizational pride. We also collected qualitative data that suggested that the company's CSR initiatives can contribute to employees' sense of meaning of their work. We discuss implications for researchers and managers, as well as limitations of the study.