Predicting employee engagement with micro-level corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in the public accounting firms

Abstract

Purpose This research aims to examines the impact of micro-level corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on employee engagement within the public accounting firm setting. Design/methodology/approach This research uses a quantitative approach with a survey instrument as the data collection tool. A total of 269 complete responses were collected from employees working in the public accounting firms. Micro-level CSR practices were analysed with a hierarchical component model (HCM) in partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to examine the influence of such practices on employee engagement. A predictive performance metric was applied to assess the out-of-sample prediction. Findings This study uncovers a positive and significant relationship between micro-level CSR practices and employee engagement. Furthermore, the PLSpredict results indicate that the current model possesses high predictive power with all indicators in the PLS-SEM analysis demonstrating lower root mean squared error (RMSE) values compared to the naïve linear regression model benchmark. Research limitations/implications While the methods applied in this analysis are at the frontier of CSR research, the present study has not explored the heterogeneity amongst groups of respondents and size of accounting firms. Sampling weight adjustment for the purposes of representativeness was not used in the current research. These could be the subject of future work in this area. Practical implications These research findings shed light on the positive manifestation effect of micro-level CSR practices at firm level as well as individual level. Through micro-level CSR practices, firms can reap the benefits of enhanced employee engagement, which leads to productive workforce while also facilitating increased employees’ intrinsic job satisfaction. Social implications Micro-level CSR practices address the needs of the millennium workforce, whereby employees are no longer solely focussed on pay checks as their compensation. Employees are seeking out employers whose CSR practices appeal to their social conscience. Micro-level CSR practices meet the needs of the contemporary workforce yet enable companies to attract and retain skilled employees. Originality/value The originality of this research is attributed to the vigorous statistical analysis by the use of HCMs and PLSpredict in PLS-SEM context for the assessment of predictive performance. Also, micro-level CSR practices are conceptualised in HCM for parsimonious purpose.

Examining the impetus for internal CSR Practices with digitalization strategy in the service industry during COVID‐19 pandemic

“…Much of the previous research on internal CSR was carried out in the business competitive setting (e.g., Jamali et al, 2019;Low & Spong, 2021), while our research was conducted during an unprecedented crisis. Second, we consider the impact of digitalization at the employees' level.…”

Analysis of Service Quality Factors of the Regional Planning Agency of Aceh

“…Organizations that adopt these elements cultivate a favorable work atmosphere that appeals to and retains highly skilled individuals. These organizations experience advantages in terms of enhanced employee satisfaction, elevated productivity levels, and overall performance improvement [47]. In addition, promoting collaboration, transparent communication, and ongoing education fosters the development of a learning organization in which innovation thrives and the collective potential of the workforce is maximized.…”

Managing healthcare employees' burnout through micro aspects of corporate social responsibility: A public health perspective

“…Generally, the concept of CSR relates to discretionary and context-specific interventions of an organization for the benefit of all stakeholders with respect to the triple bottom line effect, which includes economic, social and environmental responsibility and an organization ( 24 ). Although the research on the micro-aspect of CSR (MCSR) has flourished in the last decades, the outcomes of the MCSR-employee behavior relationship are very positive, indicating that MCSR can influence a range of employee behaviors ( 25 , 26 ). Unquestionably MCSR is an organizational enabler that brings different benefits to an ethical organization.…”