The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Employee Commitment: Mediating role of Meaningful Work and Positive Affect

Abstract

This paper aims to theoretically explain the relationships between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and employee commitment using both Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Social Exchange Theory (SET) by developing a conceptual model which incorporates mediation effects of meaningful work and positive affect. Further, this paper highlights the importance of examining employees’ perception of CSR activities in the licensed commercial banking sector. A structured questionnaire that was developed based on a comprehensive review of literature and refined using both expert opinions and a pilot survey was used for data collection. Sample comprised of 410 respondents, and a convenience sampling strategy was used to secure these responses from 13 local licensed commercial banks in Sri Lanka. Structural equation modelling was utilized to test the proposed relationships. The findings indicate that there are significant (p<0.05) positive relationships between CSR perceptions and employee commitment. Furthermore, meaningful work and positive affect were found to partially mediate the relationship between CSR and employee commitment. In terms of theoretical significance this study filled a gap by utilizing both SIT and SET in explaining relationships between CSR perceptions and employee commitment. Findings also contribute to the extant empirical literature on CSR perceptions and employee commitment particularly in the banking sector. Moreover, this study adds new insights on mediating capability of psychologically related variables.