Differential responses of employees to corporate social responsibility: An interpretation based on attribution theory

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1042.2020.01004

Abstract

Abstract:

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) attributions refer to the process through which individuals make subjective judgments regarding a company’s motivations for implementing CSR practices. CSR attributions are crucial for CSR practices to have their intended positive effects. We review the literature on CSR attributions in order to summarize the individual, leadership, and organizational factors influencing CSR attributions. In addition, from the perspectives of social exchange and social identity theories, the influence mechanisms of CSR attributions on employee attitudes and behaviors are discussed. We provide suggestions for future research including: (1) Clarify the unique antecedents and outcomes of different corporate social responsibility attributions; (2) Draw on attribution theory to explore the mechanisms through which CSR attributions are formed; (3) Explore how multiple factors influence CSR attributions at the same time; (4) Investigate how attributions influence CSR fairness heuristics; (5) Conduct localized research on CSR attributions in the Chinese context.

Key words: corporate social responsibility, attribution theory, organizational trust, organizational identification

CLC Number:

B849: C91

YAN Aimin, LI Yali, XIE Julan, LI Ying. Differential responses of employees to corporate social responsibility: An interpretation based on attribution theory[J]. Advances in Psychological Science, 2020, 28(6): 1004-1014.

Figures/Tables 3

References 40

[1]	晁罡, 姜胜林, 王磊 . (2014). 发达国家与发展中国家企业社会责任实践比较研究. 软科学, 28(6), 6-10.
[2]	马晨, 周祖城 . (2015). 员工的企业伦理态度对PCSR与工作满意度和情感承诺关系的影响研究. 管理学报, 12(11), 1671-1677.
[3]	马晨, 周祖城 . (2017). 感知的企业社会责任对员工态度的影响:自尊的调节效应. 系统管理学报, 26(2), 295-310.
[4]	颜爱民, 李歌 . (2016). 企业社会责任对员工行为的跨层分析——外部荣誉感和组织支持感的中介作用. 管理评论, 28(1), 121-129.
[5]	张倩, 何姝霖, 时小贺 . (2015). 企业社会责任对员工组织认同的影响——基于CSR归因调节的中介作用模型. 管理评论, 27(2), 111-119.
[6]	Aguilera, R. V., Rupp, D. E., Williams, C. A., & Ganapathi, J . (2007). Putting the s back in corporate social responsibility: A multi-level theory of social change in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 32(3), 836-863.
[7]	Ahmad, I., Shahzad, K., & Zafar, M. A . (2017). Impact of corporate social responsibility attributions on workplace deviance behaviors. Journal of Managerial Sciences, 11(2), 157-172.
[8]	Ali, M. A., & Jung, H. J . (2016). CSR and the workplace attitudes of irregular employees: The case of subcontracted workers in Korea. Business Ethics: A European Review, 2(26), 130-146.
[9]	Chaudhary, R., & Akhouri, A . (2018). Linking corporate social responsibility attributions and creativity: Modeling work engagement as a mediator. Journal of Cleaner Production, 190, 809-821.
[10]	Choi, J., Chang, Y. K., Li, Y. J., & Jang, M. G . (2016). Doing good in another neighborhood: Attributions of CSR motives depend on corporate nationality and cultural orientation. Journal of International Marketing, 24(4), 82-102.
[11]	Cropanzano, R., Byrne, Z. S., Bobocel, D. R., & Rupp, D. E . (2001). Self-enhancement biases, laboratory experiments, george wilhelm friedrich hegel, and the increasingly crowded world of organizational justice. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 58(2), 260-272.
[12]	Donia, M. B. L., Ronen, S., Tetrault Sirsly, C. A., & Bonaccio, S . (2019). CSR by any other name? The differential impact of substantive and symbolic CSR attributions on employee outcomes. Journal of Business Ethics, 157, 503-523.
[13]	Donia, M. B. L., & Sirsly, C. A. T . (2016). Determinants and consequences of employee attributions of corporate social responsibility as substantive or symbolic. European Management Journal, 34(3), 232-242.
[14]	Donia, M. B. L., Sirsly, C. T., & Ronen, S . (2016). Employee attributions of corporate social responsibility as substantive or symbolic: Validation of a measure. Applied Psychology, 66(1), 103-142. doi: 10.1111/apps.2017.66.issue-1 URL
[15]	Du, S., Bhattacharya, C. B., & Sen, S . (2007). Reaping relational rewards from corporate social responsibility: The role of competitive positioning. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 24(3), 224-241. doi: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2007.01.001 URL
[16]	El Akremi, A., Gond, J., Swaen, V., de Roeck, K., & Igalens, J . (2015). How do employees perceive corporate responsibility? Development and validation of a multidimensional corporate stakeholder responsibility scale. Journal of Management, 44(2), 619-657. doi: 10.1177/0149206315569311 URL
[17]	Ellen, P. S., Webb, D. J., & Mohr, L. A . (2006). Building corporate associations: Consumer attributions for corporate socially responsible programs. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34(2), 147-157.
[18]	Farooq, O., Rupp, D. E., & Farooq, M . (2017). The multiple pathways through which internal and external corporate social responsibility influence organizational identification and multifoci outcomes: The moderating role of cultural and social orientations. Academy of Management Journal, 60(3), 954-985.
[19]	Gatignon-Turnau, A. L., & Mignonac, K . (2015). (Mis)Using employee volunteering for public relations: Implications for corporate volunteers' organizational commitment. Journal of Business Research, 68(1), 7-18.
[20]	Gond, J., El Akremi, A., Swaen, V., & Babu, N . (2017). The psychological microfoundations of corporate social responsibility: A person-centric systematic review. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(2), 225-246.
[21]	Hur, W. M., & Kim, Y . (2017). How does culture improve consumer engagement in CSR initiatives? The mediating role of motivational attributions: Cultural values and CSR. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 24(6), 620-633.
[22]	Kim, K., Kim, M., & Qian, C . (2015). Effects of corporate social responsibility on corporate financial performance: A competitive-action perspective. Journal of Management, 44(3), 1097-1118.
[23]	Lee, S. Y., & Seo, Y. W . (2017). Corporate social responsibility motive attribution by service employees in the parcel logistics industry as a moderator between CSR perception and organizational effectiveness. Sustainability, 9(355), 1-13.
[24]	Lin, C. P., Lyau, N. M., Tsai, Y. H., Chen, W. Y., & Chiu, C. K . (2010). Modeling corporate citizenship and its relationship with organizational citizenship behaviors. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(3), 357-372.
[25]	Martinko, M. J., Douglas, S. C., Ford, R. C., & Gundlach, M. J . (2004). Dues paying: A theoretical explication and conceptual model. Journal of Management, 30(1), 49-69.
[26]	Mcshane, L . (2012). To thine own self be true? Employees’ judgments of the authenticity of their organization’s corporate social responsibility program. Journal of Business Ethics, 108(1), 81-100.
[27]	Meda, A. K . (2005). The social construction of ethical leadership (Unpublished doctorial dissertation), Benedictine University, Illinois.
[28]	Meyer, J. P., Morin, A. J. S., & Vandenberghe, C . (2015). Dual commitment to organization and supervisor: A person-centered approach. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 88, 56-72.
[29]	Newman, A., Nielsen, I., & Miao, Q . (2015). The impact of employee perceptions of organizational corporate social responsibility practices on job performance and organizational citizenship behavior: Evidence from the chinese private sector. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(9), 1226-1242.
[30]	Raub, S . (2017). When employees walk the company talk: The importance of employee involvement in corporate philanthropy. Human Resource Management, 56(5), 837-850. doi: 10.1002/hrm.2017.56.issue-5 URL
[31]	Roeck, K. D., & Delobbe, N . (2012). Do environmental CSR initiatives serve organizations’ legitimacy in the oil industry? Exploring employees’ reactions through organizational identification theory. Journal of Business Ethics, 110(10), 397-412. doi: 10.1007/s10551-012-1489-x URL
[32]	Rupp, D. E., & Mallory, D. B . (2015). Corporate social responsibility: psychological, person-centric, and progressing. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology & Organizational Behavior, 2(1), 211-236.
[33]	Rupp, D. E., Shao, R., Thornton, M. A., & Skarlicki, D. P . (2013). Applicants' and employees' reactions to corporate social responsibility: The moderating effects of first-party justice perceptions and moral identity. Personnel Psychology, 66(4), 895-933.
[34]	Story, J., & Neves, P . (2015). When corporate social responsibility (CSR) increases performance: Exploring the role of intrinsic and extrinsic CSR attribution. Business Ethics: A European Review, 24(2), 111-124.
[35]	Vlachos, P. A., Epitropaki, O., Panagopoulos, N. G., & Rapp, A. A . (2013). Causal attributions and employee reactions to corporate social responsibility. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 4(6), 334-337.
[36]	Vlachos, P. A., Panagopoulos, N. G., Bachrach, D. G., & Morgeson, F. P . (2017). The effects of managerial and employee attributions for corporate social responsibility initiatives. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(7), 1111-1129.
[37]	Vlachos, P. A., Panagopoulos, N. G., & Rapp, A. A . (2013). Feeling good by doing good: Employee CSR-induced attributions, job satisfaction, and the role of charismatic leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 118(3), 577-588.
[38]	Vlachos, P. A., Theotokis, A., & Panagopoulos, N. G . (2010). Sales force reactions to corporate social responsibility: Attributions, outcomes, and the mediating role of organizational trust. Industrial Marketing Management, 39(7), 1207-1218.
[39]	Wang, H., Tong, L., & Takeuchi, R . (2016). Corporate social responsibility: An overview and new research directions. Academy of Management Journal, 59(2), 534-544.
[40]	Weiner, B . (1979). A theory of motivation for some classroom experiences. Journal of Educational Psychology, 71(1), 3-25.

维度		维度内涵	代表性研究
利己-利他归因
	利己归因	履行社会责任是为了提高企业效益	Ellen et al., 2006; 张倩等, 2015; 马晨等, 2015
	利他归因	履行社会责任是为了提升社会福利	Ellen et al., 2006; 张倩等, 2015; 马晨等, 2015
价值观-利益相关者-战略-利己归因
	价值观驱动的归因	履行社会责任符合企业的价值观	Ellen et al., 2006; Vlachos et al., 2010
	利益相关者驱动的归因	履行社会责任是出于利益相关者的压力
	战略驱动的归因	希望增加销售额或减少风险或损失
	利己驱动的归因	希望利用这份事业而不是帮助成就事业
内-外部归因(真诚-自我服务归因)
	内部归因(真诚归因)	履行企业社会责任是出于其仁慈价值观	Du et al., 2007; Vlachos et al., 2013
	外部归因(自我服务归因)	履行企业社会责任是为了获得回报或避免惩罚	Du et al., 2007; Vlachos et al., 2013
实质性-象征性归因
	实质性归因	践行社会责任是为他人服务, 以满足社会需求	Donia et al., 2016
	象征性归因	实施企业社会责任是为了提高声誉和利润, 满足战略需求	Donia et al., 2016
真实-不真实归因
	真实的归因	在社会责任实践中塑造的形象与其真实身份相一致	Mcshane et al., 2012
	不真实的归因	在社会责任实践中塑造的形象与其真实身份不一致	Mcshane et al., 2012
其他
	慈善归因	员工认为公司是真正为有意义的事业作出贡献	Raub, 2017
	公共关系动机归因	实践是为加强品牌和与外部利益相关者关系	Gatignon-Turnau et al., 2015

维度		维度内涵	代表性研究
利己-利他归因
	利己归因	履行社会责任是为了提高企业效益	Ellen et al., 2006; 张倩等, 2015; 马晨等, 2015
	利他归因	履行社会责任是为了提升社会福利	Ellen et al., 2006; 张倩等, 2015; 马晨等, 2015
价值观-利益相关者-战略-利己归因
	价值观驱动的归因	履行社会责任符合企业的价值观	Ellen et al., 2006; Vlachos et al., 2010
	利益相关者驱动的归因	履行社会责任是出于利益相关者的压力
	战略驱动的归因	希望增加销售额或减少风险或损失
	利己驱动的归因	希望利用这份事业而不是帮助成就事业
内-外部归因(真诚-自我服务归因)
	内部归因(真诚归因)	履行企业社会责任是出于其仁慈价值观	Du et al., 2007; Vlachos et al., 2013
	外部归因(自我服务归因)	履行企业社会责任是为了获得回报或避免惩罚	Du et al., 2007; Vlachos et al., 2013
实质性-象征性归因
	实质性归因	践行社会责任是为他人服务, 以满足社会需求	Donia et al., 2016
	象征性归因	实施企业社会责任是为了提高声誉和利润, 满足战略需求	Donia et al., 2016
真实-不真实归因
	真实的归因	在社会责任实践中塑造的形象与其真实身份相一致	Mcshane et al., 2012
	不真实的归因	在社会责任实践中塑造的形象与其真实身份不一致	Mcshane et al., 2012
其他
	慈善归因	员工认为公司是真正为有意义的事业作出贡献	Raub, 2017
	公共关系动机归因	实践是为加强品牌和与外部利益相关者关系	Gatignon-Turnau et al., 2015

个体因素		领导因素	组织因素
人口统计因素	个体心理因素	领导因素	组织因素
性别(Raub, 2017) 年龄(Gatignon-Turnau et al., 2015; Donia et al., 2017) 组织任期(Vlachos et al., 2017)	企业伦理态度(马晨等, 2015) 员工的情感投入、公平感知 (McShane et al., 2012) 信任倾向(Donia et al., 2016) 自尊(马晨等, 2017)	魅力型领导(Vlachos et al., 2013) 领导者的情感投入(McShane et al., 2012) 领导者组织任期、领导者归因(Vlachos et al., 2017)	企业社会责任计划的资源承诺持续性、企业社会责任计划要素间的一致性、企业社会责任的嵌入程度(McShane et al., 2012) 组织的仁慈意图、目标承诺、企业社会责任计划的特殊性(Donia et al., 2016)

个体因素		领导因素	组织因素
人口统计因素	个体心理因素	领导因素	组织因素
性别(Raub, 2017) 年龄(Gatignon-Turnau et al., 2015; Donia et al., 2017) 组织任期(Vlachos et al., 2017)	企业伦理态度(马晨等, 2015) 员工的情感投入、公平感知 (McShane et al., 2012) 信任倾向(Donia et al., 2016) 自尊(马晨等, 2017)	魅力型领导(Vlachos et al., 2013) 领导者的情感投入(McShane et al., 2012) 领导者组织任期、领导者归因(Vlachos et al., 2017)	企业社会责任计划的资源承诺持续性、企业社会责任计划要素间的一致性、企业社会责任的嵌入程度(McShane et al., 2012) 组织的仁慈意图、目标承诺、企业社会责任计划的特殊性(Donia et al., 2016)

结果变量		代表性研究	研究发现	影响方式
态度	忠诚倾向	Vlachos et al. (2010)	价值观驱动、战略驱动/利己驱动的归因与忠诚倾向正/负相关; 利益相关者驱动的归因与忠诚倾向不相关	直接影响
	组织认同	McShane et al. (2012)	真实/不真实型归因与组织认同正/负相关	直接影响
	工作态度	Donia et al. (2017)	实质性/象征性归因与工作态度正/负相关	直接影响
	情感承诺	Raub (2017)	仁慈归因与情感承诺正相关	直接影响
	工作满意度	Vlachos et al. (2013)	内部/外部归因与工作满意度正/不相关	直接影响
	工作满意度	马晨等(2015,2017)	企业社会责任利他/利己归因水平越高, 员工的企业社会责任感知与工作满意度间的正相关关系越强/不显著	调节作用
	情感承诺	马晨等(2015, 2017)	企业社会责任利他/利己归因水平越高, 员工的企业社会责任感知与情感承诺之间的正相关关系越强/不显著	调节作用
	组织自豪感	张倩等(2015)	企业社会责任利他/利己归因水平越高, 员工的企业社会责任感知与组织自豪感之间的正/负相关关系越强	调节作用
	组织信任	Roeck et al. (2012)	企业社会责任利己归因水平越高, 员工的企业社会责任感知与组织信任之间的正相关关系越强	调节作用
	亲社会身份感知	Gatignon-Turnau et al. (2015)	公共关系动机的归因会削弱企业对员工志愿服务的支持与员工对企业亲社会身份认知之间的正相关关系	调节作用
	组织承诺	Lee et al. (2017)	内部/外部归因水平越高, 员工的企业社会责任感知与组织承诺之间的正相关关系越弱/不显著	调节作用
行为	员工联系	McShane et al. (2012)	真实/不真实型归因与员工联系正/负相关	直接影响
	角色内/外绩效	Story et al. (2015)	内部与外部归因都高时, 才能促进角色内/外绩效	直接影响
	个人绩效	Donia et al. (2017)	实质性/象征性归因与个人绩效正/负相关	直接影响
	员工拥护	Vlachos et al. (2017)	真诚型/自我服务型归因与员工拥护正/不相关	直接影响
	行为承诺	Raub (2017)	仁慈归因与行为承诺正相关	直接影响
	工作投入、创造力	Chaudhary et al. (2018)	内部/外部归因与工作投入、创造力正/不相关	直接影响
	积极口碑	Vlachos et al. (2010)	价值观驱动、战略驱动和利益相关者驱动/利己驱动的归因与积极口碑正/负相关	直接影响
	工作场所越轨行为	Ahmad et al. (2017)	内部归因/外部归因与工作场所越轨行为负/正相关	直接影响
	组织公民行为	Lee et al. (2017)	内部/外部归因水平越高, 员工的企业社会责任感知与组织公民行为之间的正相关关系越弱/不显著	调节作用