Abstract:
This paper examines how employees react to their organizations' corporate socialresponsibility (CSR). Drawing upon research in internal marketing and psychologicalcontract theory, we conceptualize that employees have multi-faceted job needs(i.e., economic, developmental, and ideological needs) and that CSR programsconstitute an important means to fulfill these needs. Based on cluster analysis, weidentify three employee segments, Idealists, Enthusiasts, and Indifferents, whovary in their multi-faceted job needs and, consequently, their demand fororganizational CSR. We further find that an organization's CSR programs generatesfavorable employee related outcomes, such as job satisfaction and reduction inturnover intention, partially by fulfilling employees' ideological and developmentaljob needs. Finally, we find that CSR proximity strengthens the positive impact ofCSR on employee-related outcomes. This research reveals significant employeeheterogeneity in their demand for organizational CSR and sheds light on theunderlying mechanisms linking CSR to employee-related outcomes. We end with adiscussion about the theoretical and practical implications of our research.