Consequences of corporate social responsibility on employees. The moderating role of work motivation patterns
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-08-2018-0288 |
| Pages | 231-249 |
| Date | 22 October 2019 |
| Published date | 22 October 2019 |
| Author | Evans Asante Boadi,Zheng He,Eric Kofi Boadi,Josephine Bosompem,Philip Avornyo |
| Subject Matter | Hr & organizational behaviour,Global hrm |
Consequences of corporate social
responsibility on employees
The moderating role of work
motivation patterns
Evans Asante Boadi and Zheng He
School of Management and Economics and Centre for West African Studies,
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
Eric Kofi Boadi
Department of Accountancy, Koforidua Technical University, Koforidua, Ghana
Josephine Bosompem
Department of Supply Chain Management,
Coventry University, Coventry, UK and
Graduate School, Ghana Technology University College, Accra, Ghana, and
Philip Avornyo
School of Management and Economics,
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to draw on affect social exchange theory and related literature
to develop and test a resear ch model linking employ ees’perception of corpo rate social responsib ility
(CSR) to their outcomes [ performance and organisatio nal pride (ORP)] with moderating variables: perceiv ed
work motivation patte rns (autonomous and con trolled motivation) to s ustain firm’s operatio ns through
their employees.
Design/methodology/approach –The authors used Ghana as a case for this study due to recent
turbulences in the banking sector of Ghana. A sample data of 244 subordinate/supervisor dyads from rural
and community banks was collected with a time-lagged technique and analysed through a structural equation
modelling for this study.
Findings –These employee’s perceptionsof CSR positively relatedto their performance andORP. Autonomous
motivated employees had a stronger positive moderated impact on perceived CSR-Performance link whereas
controlled motivated employees recorded a stronger impact on perceived CSR-ORP link.
Practical implications –Based on these results , managers and human re source (HR) professio nals
can aim at acquiring fav ourable employees’perc eption of their firms’CSR initiatives. In tha t, it can help
firms to remain in business par ticularly in difficult times. Also, au tonomous and controlled motivator sma y
seem inversely relate d, however, they are not contradictory to each othe r. Both can coexist within a firm
and it is crucial that HR p rofessionals and mana gers endeavour to balan ce them discreetly to at tain
organisational goals.
Originality/value –Despite the growing interest in CSR across continents, CSR outcomes on employees
among small and medium scale firms especially in Africa has fairly been toned-down by respective
management of firms, governments and researchers.
Keywords Quantitative, Ghana, Work motivation, Corporate social responsibility, Employee performance,
Organizational pride
Paper type Research paper
Personnel Review
Vol. 49 No. 1, 2020
pp. 231-249
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-08-2018-0288
Received 3 August 2018
Revised 8 January 2019
8 May 2019
4 June 2019
Accepted 8 June 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
The authors are grateful to the two anonymous referees and the assigned editor of this journal for their
valuable comments to improve on the previous drafts of this article. This study was supported by the
Social Science Planning Fund of the Ministry of Education, China (No. 18YJA630035).
231
Corporate
social
responsibility
1. Introduction
Although “everybody”is focusing on corporate social responsibility (CSR), what is new is the
perception of CSR as greenwashing (appearing environmentally friendly) and blue washing
(appearing concerned with human rights) intentions of firms to woo shareholders and
stakeholders for more business (Jauernig and Valentinov, 2019; Delmas and Burbano, 2011).
These perceptionsof CSR are justifiable on the accountof numerous corporate scandals such
as the Ford Pinto,Enron, Deepwater Horizonblowout and Volkswagen emissioncases (Birsch
and Fielder, 1994; Petrick and Scherer, 2003; Balmer et al., 2011).As a result, firms are under
pressure from stakeholders within and outside the firm to sharpen their reputation through
CSR. This requires firms to focus more on rethinking internal strategies which involves
attitudinaland behavioural actions which canpredict favourable externalperceptions of their
corporate activities. To achieve this, internal stakeholders of firms in particular, the role of
employees is crucial as their understanding of corporate actions do have effects on firm
effectiveness. As shown in the findings of substantial number of studies, employees are key
stakeholders capable of shaping public opinionabout their firm’s social initiatives (Story and
Neves, 2014; Kumpikaite, 2008). It is not surprising that the studies of Aguinis and Glavas
(2012), Shen and Benson (2016), Rupp and Mallory (2015) highlighted the need for more
studies on CSR from employees’perspectives.
First, the current paper investigates the relationship between employees’perceptions of
CSR and employeeoutcomes. Employees perceived CSR provide anin-depth understanding of
employees’immediate reactions which is key to firm’s effectiveness (Glavas and Kelley, 2014;
Rupp et al., 2013). El Akremiet al. (2015) indicated that employees areinterested in firms that
implement CSR genuinely and call for studies to integrate perception of CSR with motives.
This study integrates both general perception and motives of CSR to examine the extent to
which sincere or insincere CSR initiatives improves employee outcomes. We define employee
perception of CSR as the extent to which individual employees understand the intentions of
their firm’s internal and external initiatives that are implemented either voluntarily or legally
(after Boadi, He, Bosompem, Opata and Boadi, 2019). Employee outcomes are discussed as
Employees perceived organisational pride (ORP) and employee performance (EMP).
Second, Habel et al. (2016), Rupp et al. (2013) and Glavas (2016) called for more
intermediating variables to broaden our understanding on both macro and micro CSR
studies. We adapt employee’s perceived work motivation patterns (autonomous and
controlled motivation) as moderating variables in the relationship between employee
perceptions of CSR and employee outcomes (employee ORP and performance). One of the
main roles of human resource (HR) managers is to maximise the level of employee
motivation to attain organisational goals. Dodd et al. (2016) indicated that it is necessary for
HR managers to design jobs, implement procedures and create a work environment that
kindle and encourage employees to perform to their full potential in the way anticipated by
the organisation. Hence, motivation is at the centre of employee’s intentions towards firms,
however, scholars have divided views on the type of motivation that improves employees’
actions towards the firm. Most scholars including Dysvik and Kuvaas (2013), Stone et al.
(2009) hypes autonomous motivation that it is the ability of a person to inherently suppress
external effect on their willingness to indulge in an action and this makes them more
successful to commit to task within the firm and beyond. On the other hand, Moynihan
(2007) and Weibel et al. (2009) are among the few scholars to espouse that controlled
motivation that a person derives from external sources to behave in a certain way and also
experience a little-to-no autonomy is reliable in developing employees’positive reactions
towards the firm. This effect of controlled motivation on employees is implicit in some CSR
studies in that the findings of Lin et al. (2011) and Chapman et al. (2005) show that socially
responsible firms pay higher salaries to their employees which attract talented employees
who demonstrate positive attitude and behaviour towards the firm better than their peers in
232
PR
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