Employees’ perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its effects on internal outcomes

Based on the Means-End Chain Theory, this paper tested the relationship between Employee perception of CSR and its effects on firms’ internal outcomes (Employee Performance and Employee Corporate Identification) with Employee perceived Quality of Work Life (QWL) and Employee Work Motivation patterns (Intrinsic and Extrinsic) as intermediating variables in the relationship. The paper then uses structural equation model to analyse data on 235 employees from the best rural banks registered with the Bank of Ghana and listed on the Ghana Club 100. The findings show that: (1). Employees’ perception of CSR relates positively to their performance and corporate identification. (2). Perceived extrinsic motives for CSR by intrinsically motivated employees weakened the positive link between their perceptions of CSR and performance. (3). A partial mediation of QWL in the relationships between perceptions of CSR, performance and corporate identification was identified. Implications for theory and practice are discussed accordingly.