The contribution of corporate social responsibility to organizational commitment

This study investigates the relationship between organisational commitment and employee perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within a model which draws on social identity theory.Specifically, we examine the impact of three aspects of socially responsible behaviour on affective commitment: employee perceptions of corporate social responsibility in the community, procedural justice in the organisation and the provision of employee training.The relationship between affective commitment and each aspect of CSR is investigated within a model which controls for job satisfaction, leadership, employee level, age and tenure and discriminates between the direct and moderating effects of gender.The analysis is based on a sample of 4,712 employees drawn from a financial services company.The results provide evidence of a positive relationship between all three measures of CSR and affective commitment and suggest that the contribution of CSR to affective commitment is at least as great as that of job satisfaction.Corporate social responsibility in the community has positive implications therefore not only to external stakeholders but also to the commitment of employees within the organisation.While no direct effect was found between gender and affective commitment, the results emphasise the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between CSR and affective commitment. The Contribution of Corporate Social Responsibility to OrganisationalCommitment * = significant at 0.10 level ** = significant at 0.05 level *** = significant at 0.01 level